Believing a Lie

"If mortals are instructed in spiritual things, it will be seen that material belief [the testimony of the corporeal senses], in all its manifestations, reversed, will be found the type and representative of verities priceless, eternal, and just at hand, because every material belief [illusion] hints the existence of spiritual reality" -- from Miscellaneous Writings, by Mary Baker Eddy; 60:29; 60:28

A lie is always a lie about some truth, just as 2 x 2 = 5 is a lie about 2 x 2 = 4. There can be no lie or illusion about "nothing." -- Helen M. Wright

"As God created You, you must remain unchangeable, with transitory states by definition false. And that includes all shifts in feeling, alterations in conditions of the body and the mind; in all awareness and in all response. This is the All-Inclusiveness which sets the Truth apart from falsehood, and the false kept separate from the Truth, as what it is... To recognize God's Son implies as well that all self-concepts have been laid aside, and recognized as false." -- A Course in Miracles, Workbook 152, 5:1-3; 10:3

Today's blog is a tricky subject. If you believe something and it's not true, but you believe it is, how do you know you're believing a lie? With mathematics and other physical sciences, we have systems and proofs to determine truth or error. Interestingly though, those systems and proofs are based upon principles and axioms that are unchangeable. They are often called 'givens' in math, and so my question was always, "Given by whom?" This got a lot of laughs, but I still ask this question. Principles are unchangeable truths that are simply accepted as given. But given by whom? And how do we know that, say on Mars, 2+2 doesn't equal 5? If the laws of gravity change once you leave earth, how about all the other so-called immutable laws?

As I said, this topic is tricky. If you deal with individual laws and individual problems, it is a safe bet that you are believing a lie. From the tunnel vision of the separated self, perspective is limited to lies. This applies to the culture of our world which is based on separation and comparison. Immutable Laws, Principles that are Unchanging and All-Encompassing, cannot be seen or understood from the contracted vision of the imaginary and illusory separated self. This is why A Course in Miracles says uncompromisingly that, "Not one thing in this world is true." (ACIM Workbook 240, 1:3) You can't get much plainer than that. Unless it is the following statement: "Nothing the world believes is true." (ACIM Workbook 139, 7:1) And then there is my personal favorite: "There is no world! This is the central thought the Course attempts to teach." (ACIM Workbook 132, 6:2)

Hard sayings, all of them. We don't want our dreams shattered. The world's view of dreams in general is that life isn't worth living without them. Hmmmm.... A dream saying that life isn't life without dreams. Now that is a smokescreen if ever there was one. And shattered dreams are viewed as more painful than death. People kill themselves all the time because their dreams about themselves and about life have been shattered, their illusions destroyed. Now that is believing the ultimate lie, isn't it? But the hard truth is, we give our true life up for illusions each and every day we continue to live as if it is all true.

You cannot see the Truth and Know Your Self while believing even one illusion. You cannot possibly ever work the math problem '2+2=' correctly while believing that 2+2 must equal 5. It takes an open mind to ask a true question, and to look to the bigger picture for the answer. Not the inaccurate tunnel vision of the five senses, which are proven false over and over again. Not the biased and vested opinions of the so-called thinking mind, which is actually the lackey of the conditioned self. And certainly not the biased and vested opinions of others. It takes an open mind to notice that all lies point to Truth. A lie is always a lie about something True.

As we let go of thinking that we know, or that anyone else knows, there is an expansion that effortlessly takes place. We are enlivened with Being, simply Aware. We are Being Aware of Self. This is the Ground of Being, the Awareness of Self that is always, eternally Present, Unchanging in Love and Joy and Goodness. This is not the numbing dullness of contraction, not a false sense of peace and withdrawal into dreams. This is the ecstatic Joy of Being, One and Whole and Entirely Inclusive of All that Is. It is Life and Wholeness and Divine Completeness in God.

Don't take my word or anyone else's for anything. You have tried everything else, anyway. So try letting it all go, even for a millisecond. Did it ever occur to you that whatever you can let go of, whatever can be lost, is not true anyway? Only illusions can be lost! What is True, Eternal, Unchanging Principle cannot be lost!

Try asking a True Question: Who Am I, Really? All it takes is a Holy Instant. Recognition of Self is instantaneous, and this expanded Awareness is the only True Answer, the only Unchanging Principle that is Truth ItSelf. And the cost of clinging to illusions, the cost of believing even one lie, is the seemingly endless dreaming, the seemingly endless forgetting we call the world. Lost and alone for a seeming eternity. The crucified Son of God.

But it is not true! We are not lost! We have only been dreaming! Wake up! Believing a lie, dreaming a dream is way too high a cost. Return with me to the True Love and Peace and Joy of the Kingdom. It's Who We Are. This IS the Resurrection of the Son of God. This IS Easter.

"He Who is Changeless shares His attributes with His creation. All the images His Son appears to make have no effect on what He IS. They blow across His mind like wind-swept leaves that form a patterning an instant, break apart to group again, and scamper off. Or like mirages seen above a desert, rising from the dust. These unsubstantial images will go, and leave your mind unclouded and serene." -- A Course in Miracles, Workbook 186, 9:3-6; 10:1