During my Course in Miracles
(ACIM) study group this week, we discussed the difference between being and
existence. Both “existence as well as being rest on communication. Existence,
however, is specific in how, what and with whom communication is judged to be
worth undertaking.” [Txt 4. VII. 4. 1-2] As I thought about it, that comment
really damned me because my illusions are the way I look at the world.
Generally, when I see people, I see what I’m predisposed to see, not the “real”
people themselves.
I was reminded of comments by
Robert Perry in his book, The Path of
Light – Stepping into Peace with A Course in Miracles. He discusses the
mechanics of perception in a section of the same name [Circle Publishers, 2004,
pp. 97ff.] “The Course says, ‘Perception selects, and makes the world you see.’
[Txt 21. V. 1. 1] If I look for acts of kindness, I’ll live in a different
world than the person who focuses on acts of callousness, and each of us will
live in a different world than the guy who has a shoe fetish. What we focus on
makes our world.” [p. 98] “Seeing with true perception means that we look on
the same old people and situations as before, but see a whole new meaning in
them. It means seeing a different reality, one that has been right in front of
u all along, but which we failed to notice.... For instance, when someone yells
at you, the sights and sounds of this event come streaming in through your
senses, impressing themselves on your mind. Yet this is not all that seems to
come streaming in. The meaning of the
situation also appears to come in from the outside. You probably experienced
being yelled at as a bad thing, and this ‘badness’ appears to exist in the
situation itself. It seems to thrust itself onto your mind, coming in alongside
the sights and sounds, and making you
feel bad…. The Course makes an obvious point: ‘It is surely the mind that
judges what the eyes behold. It is the mind that interprets the eyes’ messages
and gives them ‘meaning.’ And this meaning does not exist in the world outside
at all. [M.8.4.1]” [p. 97]
How does this happen? How does
my mind assign meaning to people, events or situations? “This, as you might
guess, is where things go wrong. This is where ‘errors’ in perception enter.”
[p. 98]
We have each developed
categories into which we dump the people we meet, know, or interact with. Perry
refers to these categories we have all developed as file folders. I have a file
folder or category labeled Bible Belt Christians, fat people, Asian people, rich
people, poor people, old people, arrogant people, illiterate people, and so
forth.
You know, too, that you have similar
categories as well.
For example, when I see people
and, quickly in my observation or in our conversation, peg them as a “Bible
Belt Christian, I mentally open up my “Bible Belt” file folder and
unceremoniously dump them in. In doing that I am attributing all the characteristics I have placed in
that folder to those people, even if I don’t know them. My file folder, assembled throughout my life, “tells”
me: They have all been taught that to be saved is to affirm a simple
intellectual assent to the belief that the words of the Bible (usually the King
James Bible only) are the words of God. Those words are therefore correct and
true for all people all the time. In fact, when pressed, they would state that their
salvation and guarantee for a place in Heaven is their literal belief in the
Bible, not their faith in Jesus Christ who has transformed them. By believing
in the Bible this way, they can hate with their perfect, self-righteous hatred.
They can fear anything – people, places, movies, books, history, science or philosophy–
that is construed to be at odds with selected passages of scripture. The fact
that hate is not a Jesus value does not bother them. The fact that an obscure,
out-of-context quote from Leviticus has been given the same spiritual weight as
a parable from Jesus’ mouth does not bother them. If it’s in the Bible, it’s
true.
When I see people that are
“old,” I dump them into my “old” folder. Old people are totally absorbed with
themselves. They have confused steering, braking and accelerating with the act
of driving. They are oblivious to things like what’s going on around them: The
speed limit, The difference between a Yield sign and a Stop sign, That the left
lane is for passing and the right lane is for slower traffic. Old people don’t
stop their bad driving on the highway. Just try to negotiate around their
grocery carts in a crowded store – seemingly always parked right in the middle
of the aisle or right in front of a door as they chat with a familiar face.
These are categories or file
folders I have created – partly because of my shared illusions and partly because of my own selective memory of
prior experiences. I know that you, too,
have your file folders. Regardless, it is my way of maintaining my sense of
separateness. I am different/better/poorer/richer/healthier than you. I am me.
You are you. Period. It is my ego.
Because I have these folders
that are consistent with “my story,” I never truly see these people. I see my
perceptions (AKA categories) of them. Pieces of these people that turn out not
quite fitting the preconceived ideas in my folders are conveniently forgotten.
In short, I see what I want to
see. If I don’t like what I see or if what I see is making me nervous, anxious,
depressed, angry, or sad, then all I need to do is change what it is I want to
see. Simple, but very difficult.
All perception of mine – all
those file folders – are my creations, and they are all wrong
and in error. They are not representative of the real world. They only represent my ego’s view of things. Only the
Holy Spirit can help me change those perceptions. All I need to do is really
ask for help and work like the devil to train my mind to look at life through
the eyes of the Holy Spirit (vision) and not through the eyes of my ego
(sight).
Although these messages are
mostly for me, thanks for listening. As always – feel free to forward this
message to your friends, family, and those accompanying you on your spiritual
journey.
Don
#4 January, 2013
Copyright, 2013
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