A Course in Miracles: Mind - Spirit, Ego & False Autonomy (SFACIM class conversation; Bruce Rawles)

Описание: In this School For A Course In Miracles (SFACIM) video conversation, Lesson 10 of the Workbook was our opening meditation:

"This aspect of the correction process began with the idea that the thoughts of which you are aware are meaningless, outside rather than within; and then stressed their past rather than their present status. ²Now we are emphasizing that the presence of these “thoughts” means that you are not thinking. . ... (ACIM, W-10.3:1–4:9)

As we train our minds to gently, patiently, lucidly, vividly watch for any discomfort, any insanity, any annoyance or distress, it becomes more of a happy habit. We're learning, slowly but surely, to give time and space to our Inner Kindness Teacher (the Holy Spirit) to restore our sanity, instead of giving these dimensions of our dream to the ego to erode our sanity.

We read primarily from two places, the first (page 79 in the Manual For Teachers) being Mind – Spirit (ACIM, C-1). Here are the first three paragraphs of that essay:

"The term mind is used to represent the activating agent of spirit, supplying its creative energy. ²When the term is capitalized it refers to God or Christ (i.e., the Mind of God or the Mind of Christ). ³Spirit is the Thought of God which He created like Himself. ⁴The unified spirit is God’s one Son, or Christ.
..." (ACIM, C-1.1:1–3:3)

We also read from Ken Wapnick's (always profound, prolific, and prodigious) commentary on this section in Journey Through the Manual (for Teachers) of A Course In Miracles (JTTM), beginning on page 207. Here's a portion of what we read, reminding us that ACIM's inspiration is from the highest (pure non-dual) level of awareness, but since we (who mostly identify ourselves as individuals with human bodies and a material existence, a.k.a. egos) are metaphorically sleeping, we need a gentle voice that meets us where we think we are on the level we think we exist so we can work our way back to reality from the "bottom up":

"We appear to be different and separate, which is what our bodies were designed to demonstrate. Therefore, because we think we are individuals, Jesus addresses us as if we have individual minds. This is not the truth, he is telling us, but he will use words that are appropriate for our experience." –  Ken Wapnick, JTTM, page 207

It's important to remember (as we discussed in the video) that ACIM's content is consistent, even if the form (the language) is not, so it's best not to get hung up on the words or technical details, losing sight of the forest for the trees. This practice aligns with the Course's emphasis on learning to generalize, so that we can apply the message (content) of non-duality (the separation never happened) to everything and everyone that appears to be separate in our seemingly split minds.

"The power of decision is your one remaining freedom as a prisoner of this world." (ACIM, T-12.VII.9:1)

"Heaven is the decision I must make. ⁶I make it now, and will not change my mind, because it is the only thing I want." (ACIM, W-138.12:5-6)

The next section we read and discussed was from ACIM's text: The Ego and False Autonomy (ACIM, T-4.II). Here are its first three paragraphs:

"It is reasonable to ask how the mind could ever have made the ego. ..." (ACIM, T-4.II.1:1–3:6)

Spoiler alert: We briefly discussed a theme in season 1 of the Apple TV series "Pluribus," where the main character wreaked havoc when she held onto angry thoughts. We often forget that our grievances are devastating to our peace of mind, and since minds are joined, every ego mind partakes of the same insanity. Seeing that the outer and inner are never apart, our state of mind is mirrored in everyone we interact with or bring to awareness. Fortunately, our "universal" (temporary) insanity is limited to our duality-quarantined mind, and has not damaged the reality of our eternal peace and infinitely innocent identity in any way. "... not one note in Heaven’s song was missed." (ACIM, T-26.V.5:4) When we change our mind and truly forgive, we see that the correction was always in effect; the insanity "... will merely cease to seem to be." (ACIM, M-14.2:12)

We just need to "hang in there" and learn to trust our Inner Kindness Teacher (Holy Spirit) more and more consistently. We learn that the innocence we thought we lost never existed in form, but always in the Spirit we share, which is forever our real, shared Identity.

"The habit of engaging with God and His creations is easily made if you actively refuse to let your mind slip away. ²The problem is not one of concentration; it is the belief that no one, including yourself, is worth consistent effort. ..." (ACIM, T-4.IV.7:1-4)

Fortunately, the Truth (Perfect Oneness) is completely invulnerable to the lie of duality (ego), and Truth never changes, thankfully!

We've become normalized to the "neuralizer" effect ...

Read the full post here: https://acimblog.com/mind-spirit-ego-...