It occurs to me that I might be misrepresenting the fundamental message and intention of the Course with my talk about how well it works in my life, and could work in yours. The Course clearly states that it’s intent is not to make life better here in the world, but to help us wake from the dream of an illusory world, to the reality of eternal peaceful life as spirit; that it’s either the real world of spirit or the dream/illusory world of the ego. That the dream becomes better as we follow the Course, is epiphenomenal – a 25 cent word I don’t get to use very much which means, side effect.
In other words, I don’t do the Course to make the illusion more comfortable, I do the Course to awake and attain the real world of spirit, and as I do that, the illusory ego world becomes more tolerable. Doing the Course undoes the illusion. I don’t attack or challenge the illusion, I just do the Course. Here, again, is that subtle, Zen paradox, about non-doing or effortless doing. It’s amazing and comforting, not so amazing really when you think how really it all comes from a single source, how the Zen ideas, as well as the fundamental core of all faiths, are so similar.
So, I’m resigning as my own teacher, trying, but not too hard, to not struggle and force things to happen in the world. Of course, I’ve got to work, eat, take a crap, stay healthy, be amused, that’s what we do here. But I’m trying to do it all with spirit, with guidance, not taking it so seriously, to feel my reality as spirit in each moment and in each activity. The goal isn’t to cross another item off the to-do list, feel good and avoid pain; the goal is to feel my connection with spirit, to realize my, and your, oneness; to truly, deeply experience the idea that the obstacles ARE the path.
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