"The learning of the world is built upon a concept of the self adjusted to the world's reality. A concept of self is made by you. It bears no likeness to your Self at all. It is an idol, made to take the place of your reality as Son of God." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 31, Section V.
Many of these blog posts have explored the question, Who am I? And A Course in Miracles teaches us that this is the only real question we can ask. Once we have clearly understood this, everything changes. As the Course says, I cannot have what I am unwilling to be.
The Course reminds us over and over, in thousands of uniquely poetic ways, that our lives are not as we imagine them. Those of us who are writing or reading this obviously have glimpsed this, and know it to be true in spite of the tenacity of the egoistic image of a self. Why else would you be reading this blog? Such words hold no interest to those who still believe their own self-concepts. It is those of us whose concepts are dissolving that are drawn to such things.
Dissolving is what is going on, you know. The false will fall away automatically when it is no longer defended. This is a blissful process when you realize what is happening. It is like a delicious melting away of all that is false, and a relaxing into the Self that has always been Who We Are. Like realizing you are Home, and have always been Home.
"Whatever form temptation seems to take, it always but reflects a wish to be a self that you are not. And from that wish a concept arises, teaching that you are the thing you wish to be. It will remain your concept of yourself until the wish that fathered it no longer is held dear. Be vigilant against temptation, then, remembering that it is but a wish, insane and meaningless, to make yourself a thing that you are not. Consider then what temptation is, and see the real alternatives you choose between." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 31, Section VII.
Choose wisely today, and see all things in the Light of this one Self. You are the Self that God created... One Self that excludes no one and no thing. You are that Self. You are Home.
"You are as God created you, and so is every living thing you look upon, regardless of the images you see. What you behold as sickness and as pain, as weakness and as suffering and loss, is but temptation to perceive your self defenseless and in hell. Yield not to this, and you will see all pain in every form, wherever it occurs, but disappear as mists before the sun." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 31, Section VIII.
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Showing posts with label Who Am I?. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Who Am I?. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
All Loving and All Worthy
I have a human pattern of judging a situation and then feeling wrong, or then concluding that I'm not good enough for whatever. I know this is a familiar story for some of you, too. Human beings are always feeling bad about something, and either blaming self or someone else for the feelings. But the Atonement reveals that even these feelings bear unexpected spiritual fruit. When we're willing to suspend judgment through forgiveness, the still, small Voice of Truth is heard in the midst of the sadness, the anxiety, the hopelessness. And it always returns the Mind to the Awareness of ever-present Joy. It always reveals that the images of judgment are simply false. The feelings the ego conjures have no meaning, because they have no substance. They are simply not there.
"When you are sad, know this need not be. Depression comes from a sense of being deprived of something you want and do not have. Remember that you are deprived of nothing except by your own decisions, and then decide otherwise. When you are anxious, realize that anxiety comes from the capriciousness of the ego, and know that this need not be. You can be as vigilant against the ego's dictates as for them. When you have given up this voluntary dis-spiriting, you will see how your mind can focus and rise above fatigue and heal. Yet you are not sufficiently vigilant against the demands of the ego. This need not be. The problem is not one of concentration; it is the belief that no one, including yourself, is worth consistent effort. You are a mirror of Truth, in which God Himself shines in perfect Light. To the ego's dark glass you need but say, "I will not look there because I know these images are not true." Then let the Holy One shine on you in peace, knowing that this, and only this, must be." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 4, Section IV
So am I worth the time and attention it takes to reverse these human patterns? Certainly not as I imagined myself, nor is anyone else that I've imagined worth the effort. But Who AM I? Christ appearing as me is far beyond any human measure of worth. I AM worth consistent attention and effort, because I AM is the Truth about me and thus about all that Is. I AM a mirror of Truth, where God shines in Perfect Light and Joy. Only this IS. As the Course says, "This, and only this, must be."
I was reading a transcript of a workshop given three decades ago by Herb Fitch, and this passage transported me: “Whenever you are reverting to the opinion that you are a human being, you’re blocking the Light, you’re blocking the Voice. The Voice does not come except where there is purity. And purity means not a divided concept of matter and Spirit. So please examine your deeper feelings and know that you are not both Christ and a human being. You are not both Spirit and a human being. You are pure Spirit, Christ and no other. The greatest thing I have is the assurance that I and the Father are One. If I and the Father are One that means I am not human. I must learn how to accept this in the quietness of my own Being, resting there, waiting for the inner impulse that tells me Who I AM, feeling the nature of my true Being and trusting what I feel and hear enough to LIVE it, and act upon it. ” – Herb Fitch
So purity means not having a split mind, not seeing the projected concepts of separate bodies and separate things we call matter as if they were the truth. Because we cannot see two worlds. We are unable to know Self as Infinite, as Pure and Perfect Spirit, as long as we believe in the limited forms we call matter. Knowing Who I AM means knowing I am not both Christ and a human being. And if I and the Father are One, there is nothing but Spirit. Consistent effort is needed only to return my attention to this Awareness in my own Being. I must remember Who I really AM, and that I AM worth it. There are no human beings here. Only the Christ We Are and Our Infinite Expressions. All Loving and All Worthy.
"When you are sad, know this need not be. Depression comes from a sense of being deprived of something you want and do not have. Remember that you are deprived of nothing except by your own decisions, and then decide otherwise. When you are anxious, realize that anxiety comes from the capriciousness of the ego, and know that this need not be. You can be as vigilant against the ego's dictates as for them. When you have given up this voluntary dis-spiriting, you will see how your mind can focus and rise above fatigue and heal. Yet you are not sufficiently vigilant against the demands of the ego. This need not be. The problem is not one of concentration; it is the belief that no one, including yourself, is worth consistent effort. You are a mirror of Truth, in which God Himself shines in perfect Light. To the ego's dark glass you need but say, "I will not look there because I know these images are not true." Then let the Holy One shine on you in peace, knowing that this, and only this, must be." -- A Course in Miracles; Chapter 4, Section IV
So am I worth the time and attention it takes to reverse these human patterns? Certainly not as I imagined myself, nor is anyone else that I've imagined worth the effort. But Who AM I? Christ appearing as me is far beyond any human measure of worth. I AM worth consistent attention and effort, because I AM is the Truth about me and thus about all that Is. I AM a mirror of Truth, where God shines in Perfect Light and Joy. Only this IS. As the Course says, "This, and only this, must be."
I was reading a transcript of a workshop given three decades ago by Herb Fitch, and this passage transported me: “Whenever you are reverting to the opinion that you are a human being, you’re blocking the Light, you’re blocking the Voice. The Voice does not come except where there is purity. And purity means not a divided concept of matter and Spirit. So please examine your deeper feelings and know that you are not both Christ and a human being. You are not both Spirit and a human being. You are pure Spirit, Christ and no other. The greatest thing I have is the assurance that I and the Father are One. If I and the Father are One that means I am not human. I must learn how to accept this in the quietness of my own Being, resting there, waiting for the inner impulse that tells me Who I AM, feeling the nature of my true Being and trusting what I feel and hear enough to LIVE it, and act upon it. ” – Herb Fitch
So purity means not having a split mind, not seeing the projected concepts of separate bodies and separate things we call matter as if they were the truth. Because we cannot see two worlds. We are unable to know Self as Infinite, as Pure and Perfect Spirit, as long as we believe in the limited forms we call matter. Knowing Who I AM means knowing I am not both Christ and a human being. And if I and the Father are One, there is nothing but Spirit. Consistent effort is needed only to return my attention to this Awareness in my own Being. I must remember Who I really AM, and that I AM worth it. There are no human beings here. Only the Christ We Are and Our Infinite Expressions. All Loving and All Worthy.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
The Light of Strength
"The light of strength is constant, sure as love, forever glad to give itself away, because it cannot give but to itself. No one can ask in vain to share its sight, and none who enters its abode can leave without a miracle before his eyes, and strength and light abiding in his heart." -- A Course in Miracles; Workbook Lesson 92, 8:1-2
Constant, sure, abiding... these are the shining attributes of the ever-present, unchanging Christ Self that is our Reality. Vacillating, uncertain, always in flux... these are the attributes of the conditioned self, the egoic self-concept. Sometimes in the midst of the egoic delusion, the only way to give ourselves over to the Holy Spirit and return to sanity is to gently remind ourselves that what is true doesn't shift and change, and so this (whatever version of egoic stuff is arising) must not be true. It's like Ramana Maharshi asking, "Who am I?", and going through the process of elimination... "Not this, not this..." All of 'this' that the mind can conceive is simply concept, not reality. When the mind is wiped clean of all its concepts, what remains is the effortless light and strength of Mind Awake, which is pure Love.
Forgiveness is the process of washing the mind of concepts. As we give over every thought, emotion, judgment, and experience to the Holy Spirit for healing, the mind becomes quiet. In the Introduction to the Course, we are told that, "The Course does not aim at teaching the meaning of Love, for that is beyond what can be taught. It does aim, however, at removing the blocks to the awareness of Love's Presence, which is your natural inheritance." (ACIM; Introduction, 1:6-7) Every single apparent block to awareness is a mental construct, a concept held as true in the sleeping mind. "Salvation can be seen as nothing more than the escape from concepts." (ACIM; Chapter 31, V, 14:3)
As we forgive all concepts of a world and of a self, the mind becomes still, radiating only the light of strength and that is the ever-present reality of our true Self.
"The power of decision is our own. And we accept of Him that which we are, and humbly recognize the Son of God. To recognize God's Son implies as well that all self-concepts have been laid aside, and recognized as false. Their arrogance has been perceived. And in humility the radiance of God's Son, his gentleness, his perfect sinlessness, his Father's Love, his right to Heaven and release from hell, are joyously accepted as our own." -- A Course in Miracles; Workbook Lesson 152, 10:1-5
Constant, sure, abiding... these are the shining attributes of the ever-present, unchanging Christ Self that is our Reality. Vacillating, uncertain, always in flux... these are the attributes of the conditioned self, the egoic self-concept. Sometimes in the midst of the egoic delusion, the only way to give ourselves over to the Holy Spirit and return to sanity is to gently remind ourselves that what is true doesn't shift and change, and so this (whatever version of egoic stuff is arising) must not be true. It's like Ramana Maharshi asking, "Who am I?", and going through the process of elimination... "Not this, not this..." All of 'this' that the mind can conceive is simply concept, not reality. When the mind is wiped clean of all its concepts, what remains is the effortless light and strength of Mind Awake, which is pure Love.
Forgiveness is the process of washing the mind of concepts. As we give over every thought, emotion, judgment, and experience to the Holy Spirit for healing, the mind becomes quiet. In the Introduction to the Course, we are told that, "The Course does not aim at teaching the meaning of Love, for that is beyond what can be taught. It does aim, however, at removing the blocks to the awareness of Love's Presence, which is your natural inheritance." (ACIM; Introduction, 1:6-7) Every single apparent block to awareness is a mental construct, a concept held as true in the sleeping mind. "Salvation can be seen as nothing more than the escape from concepts." (ACIM; Chapter 31, V, 14:3)
As we forgive all concepts of a world and of a self, the mind becomes still, radiating only the light of strength and that is the ever-present reality of our true Self.
"The power of decision is our own. And we accept of Him that which we are, and humbly recognize the Son of God. To recognize God's Son implies as well that all self-concepts have been laid aside, and recognized as false. Their arrogance has been perceived. And in humility the radiance of God's Son, his gentleness, his perfect sinlessness, his Father's Love, his right to Heaven and release from hell, are joyously accepted as our own." -- A Course in Miracles; Workbook Lesson 152, 10:1-5
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Wholeness is a Way of Looking
"Ultimately the entire universe (with all its 'particles, including those constituting human beings, their laboratories, observing instruments, etc.) has to be understood as a single undivided whole, in which analysis into separately and independently existent parts has no fundamental meaning." -- Physicist David Bohm, from Wholeness and the Implicate Order
I've been noticing how I view the world a lot lately. Paying attention to who (or Who) is looking. There is the habitual fragmented, divided self with its ongoing life story. This self sees a fragmented, divided world that is always full of drama and resolution, of desire and fulfillment or disappointment. This self sees everything as desirable or undesirable, as safe or scary, as clean or unclean, healthy or unhealthy, etc. But when I relax the rigid conditioning that has produced this fragmented fiction, I am suddenly looking through the utterly natural eyes of Self.
This Self is Whole, in the sense that it embraces and includes everything. It sees the world through a lens of Wholeness, and so balance and harmony is what is seen, an interwoven and interpenetrating dance of Wholeness. As David Bohm wrote in his book Wholeness and the Implicate Order, Wholeness is a way of looking.
We have to let go of the conditioned lens of judgment and fragmentation in order to access this entirely natural, and ultimately true way of looking at the world. We're not talking about physical sight here... physical perception is simply a projection of the conceptual lens we're using. Wholeness as a way of looking is a conscious awareness, just as fragmented perception is a way of looking that is largely unconscious conditioning. When it becomes conscious, the lens (awareness) of Wholeness is naturally revealed.
How do we know that this is true, that Wholeness is Reality? David Bohm explains it with quantum physics. But I suggest that you simply try it. As I said at the beginning of this blog, I've been paying attention to who, or Who is looking. And that makes all the difference.
I've been noticing how I view the world a lot lately. Paying attention to who (or Who) is looking. There is the habitual fragmented, divided self with its ongoing life story. This self sees a fragmented, divided world that is always full of drama and resolution, of desire and fulfillment or disappointment. This self sees everything as desirable or undesirable, as safe or scary, as clean or unclean, healthy or unhealthy, etc. But when I relax the rigid conditioning that has produced this fragmented fiction, I am suddenly looking through the utterly natural eyes of Self.
This Self is Whole, in the sense that it embraces and includes everything. It sees the world through a lens of Wholeness, and so balance and harmony is what is seen, an interwoven and interpenetrating dance of Wholeness. As David Bohm wrote in his book Wholeness and the Implicate Order, Wholeness is a way of looking.
We have to let go of the conditioned lens of judgment and fragmentation in order to access this entirely natural, and ultimately true way of looking at the world. We're not talking about physical sight here... physical perception is simply a projection of the conceptual lens we're using. Wholeness as a way of looking is a conscious awareness, just as fragmented perception is a way of looking that is largely unconscious conditioning. When it becomes conscious, the lens (awareness) of Wholeness is naturally revealed.
How do we know that this is true, that Wholeness is Reality? David Bohm explains it with quantum physics. But I suggest that you simply try it. As I said at the beginning of this blog, I've been paying attention to who, or Who is looking. And that makes all the difference.
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