Clinging to Separation, 4

Spirituality—a non-dogmatic belief in a benign, universal power inherent in all human beings, is the thing itself, religion, its various brands. Appeals to fundamentalist, traditional, judeo-christian religious beliefs seem to be working for the current Republican brand. But the fact is that the demographic trends of those who carry those beliefs are against that brand. Hopefully, we are seeing the last hurrah of that kind of thinking.

Meanwhile, people of all demographics, even those favoring the Republicans, hunger for spiritual connection and succor.  The kind of spirituality I've been posting about is politically Progressive spirituality, connecting Science and Spirit, heart and mind. It is cutting edge spirituality, not religion; compassionate, non-dogmatic, inclusive, non-ideological, pragmatic, and emphasizes love over fear. By learning about this kind of spirituality and practicing it, Progressives claim the future.

In the separated experience of living in the ego’s nightmare, if I want something, I have to give something. Nothing is for nothing; it’s dog-eat-dog, the bedrock of the current Republican brand. But according to the Course in Miracles: “God thinks otherwise. (Of course, the spiritual version of ‘God’ doesn’t ‘think;’ thinking is a human activity used here to anthropomorphosize God – to make God more comprehensible to us by making God in our image, instead of vice versa.) Sacrifice is a notion totally unknown to God. It arises solely from fear, and frightened people can be vicious. Sacrifice in any way is a violation of (spirit’s) injunction that you be merciful (and forgiving) even as your Father in Heaven is merciful (and forgiving).”

So the ego’s thought system of punishment, vengeance and sacrifice, that we so strongly identify with, is quietly undone through forgiveness, which restores to our awareness our reality as spiritual beings having earthly experiences. “The mercy and the peace of God are free. (They) and salvation have no cost. (They) are a gift that must be freely given and received. Heaven’s love is not diminished by our belief in the hell of judgment.”

Clinging to Separation, 3

As is evident from the success of the current Republican brand, the separation of religion and politics does not work. Appeals to fundamentalist, traditional, judeo-christian religious beliefs is working for them. But the fact is that the demographics of those who carry those beliefs are against them. Hopefully, we are seeing the last hurrah of that kind of thinking.

Meanwhile, people of all demographics, even those favoring the Republicans, hunger for spiritual connection and succor.  The kind of spirituality I've been posting about is politically Progressive spirituality, connecting Science and Spirit, heart and mind. It is cutting edge spirituality, not religion. By learning about this kind of spirituality and practicing it, Progressives claim the future.

And actually when we release our ego identity and accept our reality as spirit we don’t just go ‘poof!’ and disappear, we experience a miracle, a healing, a gradual shift from living lives of fear, disappointment, anger and blame to lives of hope, optimism, generosity and compassion. The miracle and forgiveness are similar aspects of healing the ego’s nightmare illusion of separation. The miracle is not about external changes but solely about a change of mind from ego to spirit.

“The miracle is taken first on faith, because to ask for it implies the mind has been made ready to conceive of what it cannot see and does not understand.”

Gradually, as we go within and shift from the ego’s guidance to spirit’s, we feel more peaceful because we realize we that we, not anyone or anything else, are the ones that give things all the meaning they have for us. We thus are choosing differently and interpreting differently and feel less victimized by what goes on around us. Faith in the constant presence of spirit’s love and support and our oneness with it--the inside-out approach, shows that our happiness does not rest upon external happenings: whether someone has a good or bad day, does or does not smile, the weather is nice or nasty, or whatever we believe secures our happiness and peace. 

“Faith will bring its witnesses to show that what it rested on is really there. And thus the miracle will justify your faith in it, and show it rested on a world more real than what you saw before; a world redeemed from what you thought was there.”

This happens, not because something magical occurred, but because we practice our faith. We bring the ‘problem’ to its source in the mind, shift from ego to spirit and that changes how we interpret and feel.  As we increasingly experience release from the ego’s nightmares of judgment and pain, we recognize the joy in learning we are not figures in this dream, but the dreamers of the dream.  As our faith bears wonderful fruit, we realize the illusory dream has never left its source in the illusory mind, that we have been wrong about everything here, and acting on our faith in our reality as spirit brings us what we truly want.

“Miracles fall like drops of healing rain from Heaven on a dry and dusty world, where starved and thirsty creatures come to die. Now they have water. Now the world is green. And everywhere the signs of life spring up.”

Clinging to Separation, 2

Babies will cry when the scissors they are playing with are taken from them. To the caring adult this source of ‘enjoyment’ is a dangerous potential source of harm. The still small voice of spirit is the caring adult within us, trying to get us to stop playing with our dangerous ego toys, except the still small voice does not have the same power over us that the adult has over the child. It—spirit, the still small voice, must whisper, nudge and wait patiently until we return to our minds and change them. Our Self is trying to shift focus from our self’s dangerous toys—the ego’s specialness, gently, not by force, not by force, but by showing us it does not make us happy.

Because the self thinks separation, not at-one-ment with its Self will make it happy, and because the Law always gives us what we want most—separation, “let us resolve today to ask for what we really want, and only this (at-one-ment with ourSelves), that we may spend this day in fearlessness without confusing pain with joy, or fear with love.”  We need a new definition of happiness which comes only when we step outside ourselves, the ego dream—outside our personal identity, and allow our Self to teach us what alone will give us what we want: the perceptual shift of relationships that forgiveness brings.

Each situation, experience and feeling whether positive or negative from the ego’s perspective is an opportunity to awaken and claim the gifts of peace and oneness that forgiveness brings. Seeing our lives as classrooms in which we constantly practice returning to our minds and perceiving our mistakes and seizing our opportunities without guilt, judgment and blame works best. No one and no-thing can ever take our Self’s love, compassion, peace and joy from us except our self’s fear of loosing its illusory identity.

Clinging to Separation

“No one desires pain,” The Course says, “but he can think that pain is pleasure. No one would avoid his happiness. But he can think that (happiness and) joy is painful, threatening and dangerous.” This confusion happens because we mistake the ego’s gifts for spirit’s gifts, and our self for our Self.  The self, the ego, perceives itself as separate from spirit, its true Self. The self’s very existence depends on the denial of spirit, on being separate and keeping the Self away. 

If the self is part of the Self, which it is, then the self has no individual identity, no separate existence and would cease to exist as a separated self. This is very threatening and frightening to the ego self.  It will do anything: hurt itself, suffer, attack, fear and blame to keep itself busy in the illusion of the world and thus maintain its separate individual identity. Only by being willing to relinquish our separate identity and awake from the ego’s nightmare version of the world of separation, can true sustainable and lasting joy and happiness (and the cessation of pain, fear and anger) come.

Thinking we are bodies, instead of accepting our at-one-ment with our Source, our Self; believing more in our physical external identities than our inner spiritual identities, confuses us and we really do not understand the difference between pleasure and pain. If we believe the body can give one, we believe it can also give the other. Joy is giving up the ego self, our individuality and self importance, what Emerson called “our bloated nothingness,” and choosing our spiritual Self.  As egos, we are like the drop of seawater thrown into the air by the crashing waves, thinking it is separate from its Source the sea, rejoicing in its ‘freedom’ and fearing its inevitable fall back into the ocean from which it came and of which it is a part.

Self and self

Yesterday’s post said, “each time”—each time we feel the fear, feel separated from our Source, we need do nothing but release the ego and embrace our inner power. Each time—we are never done, it is never over, it is a process--we are always needing to be mindful, self aware and Self aware. 

The Self is our Source, the power within that knows the truth, knows our true identity as spiritual beings having earthly experiences. The self is the ego self, the identity we identify with most of the time, the self we think we are that perceives, thinks and understands incorrectly.  The process of living well involves monitoring ourselves, to be mindful and aware of which self/Self we’re identifying with, and if it’s the self, we want to ask the Self for help shifting to It from the self.

When we’re with our Self we’re not projecting, and when we’re not projecting, we’re not creating any illusions to be afraid of or worry about. So, knowing what we perceive outside us is a projection, an illusory experience that we give meaning to, we want to acknowledge our perceptions; after all we can’t go and play in the traffic. But then, as yesterday’s post said, we want to “live so as to demonstrate (we) are not egos.” To demonstrate we are spiritual beings having earthly experiences and to deal with our perceptions from that place: the centered, inner place of compassion, peace, joy, creativity and inclusion. Then, from there, make our own unique contributions to a world that works for everyone and everything.

At-one-ment and the Current Republican Brand

The Atonement and forgiveness help me see things differently and know that there is nothing to fear, because there is no projection of guilt that demands attack and defense. The Atonement and forgiveness remind me of the innocence and oneness, the sinlessness, we all share as spiritual beings.

I find peace, safety, love, and happiness, not through the world changing or my manipulating others to meet my special, ego needs, but rather by changing my mind’s thought system and teacher, shifting from the ego’s endless nightmare to spirit’s eternal bliss. This means that all I have to do each time I become aware of the fear, anger and pain is accept the Atonement for myself. In other words, when the harsh, evil, horrifying movie of the world gets to me, goes out of focus, instead of going up to the screen to change the focus—trying to make the world better, I go to the projection booth in my mind and ask to see things differently.

“All I need do is undo what my ego has taught me.  I need do nothing of myself, for I need but accept my Self, my sinlessness, created for me, now already mine.” The sinless innocents that we truly are, are safe because they live from their spiritual reality and project nothing. “Nothing they see (such as the current Republican brand) is harmful, for their awareness of the truth releases everything (such as the current Republican brand) from the illusion of (sin) and harmfulness. And what seemed harmful (such as the current Republican brand) now stands shining in (its) innocence, released from sin and fear and happily returned to love.”

We “are asked to live so as to demonstrate (we) are not egos;” to realize we did not sin but merely made a mistake. “Though we perceive, think, and understand incorrectly, there is (a power) within that knows the truth.” We need do nothing but release the ego and embrace this power each time we feel the fear...and vote Democratic!

Minds Are Joined

“Forgiveness let’s me know that minds are joined,” the Course says—minds, not bodies! This is so cool—minds, not bodies! The metaphysics here is beautiful and empowering—minds, not bodies! Metaphysics—the higher order abstraction, the Laws governing the energy everything is made of. The Course’s metaphysics holds that only the mind is real, only the ephemeral invisible energy we all share is real, and that what we think and feel with that mind is what manifests in the world.

Only the one mind is real and the world, as real as it seems, is an illusory creation of our individual ego use of that one mind. The world is a consensus reality, a reality created by the agreement and consent of all the individual egos using the one mind.

Forgiveness, asking spirit for help in shifting our perception of the world from ego to spirit, returns us to the real world—the experience of peace, joy, and compassion. From the place of forgiveness, letting go of sin, guilt, fear, and blame, we are able to see that the so-called ‘sinners’, guilty and fearful ones, and those worthy of blame and punishment, are human beings—spiritual beings have earthly experiences, same as we are, sharing the need let go of the ego nightmare and return home to spirit as we all do.

Forgiveness let’s me know that minds are joined. By first accepting the Atonement—at-one-ment, for myself, by forgiving the ego illusions of sin, guilt, fear and blame—all designed to keep me busy in the world and distracted from my reality as spirit, I return to the mind that originated and projected the ego. I can then look within at the mind’s wrong-minded decision for the ego, recognize my mistaken choice and choose correctly, returning home to the love, peace, joy and compassion already in our hearts, to our shared reality as spirit. I can end the ego nightmare right now, by asking to see things differently, with spirit, and choosing again – each time the pain arises. Minds are joined; forgiveness let’s me know that.