Saturday, March 8, 2014

I Remember Then Forget To Remember

From a subscriber in reference to Msg-1-Mar-2014, “Being Born Again – Over And Over And Over”
Hi Don!
That is a lot of food for thought, and that is just the thinking, not the implementing.....And, are you saying that the thinking of ACIM is that you do not deal with the past at all - that it is just an illusion?  Couldn't another approach be to acknowledge the past, and accept it for what it was (Acceptance), and then live in the now?  Isn't that the whole process of "letting go"? Aren't we all the sum of our parts (including our past)?  And then where does Karma fit in?  Aren't we where we are because of past lives, past actions?  And if we are evolving into who were really are, you can't evolve if you don't have a beginning, which is also the past....I know it is easy to over-intellectualize something.  So, are you proposing to just forget all the above, just make it simple...and then live in the now?  I really do not like complicated thought, and generally just want to cut to the chase - but your messages always do make me think, and I do appreciate that, so thank you!... 
It’s good to hear from you again. Thank you. You raise a lot of very good questions. The Course in Miracles (ACIM) says everything we “believe” we “see” and “know” as reality is only our perception of things, which, in turn, is colored by all sorts of “in-our-head” beliefs, understandings, teachings and expectations.  In short, the world we perceive doesn’t truly exist! It doesn’t really exist because we are not human beings who possess a “soul” somewhere. It doesn’t really exist because we are already-loved spirits having a human experience and the world of Spirit – of love and forgiveness – is the real world. But humankind has chosen to believe our perceived world of fear, lack, and attack rather than the true world of Spirit.

A simple test: All we have to do is get several of our siblings together and discuss an event all of us remember – and we’ll get all sorts of differing interpretations as to what exactly went on. I’ll remember things they absolutely have no recollection of, and they’ll remember things I don’t. I’ll interpret something our mother did as harmful while my sister will remember it as funny. So, what is the reality of what actually happened? The “reality” is merely our selective memory with self-imposed interpretations.  That “reality” exists only between our ears.

We generally remember what we want to, interpreted the way we want to remember it, and reinforced by other similar behavior that seems to verify what we remember (but is only the subsequent remembrances colored by the initial interpretation).  As a result, the “world” we are reacting to is a world whose meaning we created from distorted thoughts about a selective memory of a past event. We are seeing reflections of selected memories of an image or illusion. That’s all it is. It is not real. The only true reality is seeing the Christ in everyone (including yourself) in the eternal NOW. Our egos cannot take us there.

I created a summary of the first 30 Lessons in ACIM’s Workbook for Students. I use it when I am really out of sorts. You may find it helpful:
My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts. I see nothing as it is now.   "The one wholly true thought I can hold about the past is that it is not here." [ACIM.W-p1.8. 2:1] Since I see only the past, my thoughts do not mean anything; I am upset because I am seeing something that is not there; my thoughts are merely images I have made. I only see my own thoughts projected outward. If my mind is preoccupied with the past, and all thoughts about the past are thoughts or images about illusions, and all I see is a projection of my thoughts – where does that leave what I am "seeing?" Nowhere! I am seeing reflections of my memories of an image or illusion. When I am picturing the past or anticipating the future, my mind is actually blank, because it is not thinking. It is only remembering my memories of an illusion.
This idea totally engulfs my Sense-of-Self  (ego) in fear – if all that my ego is showing me is meaningless, then I (and my illusionary world) are meaningless. My only option is to let God define my world and me. That is even more scary! It feels more "natural" to make my own meaning – with myself and my concerns at the center. If I let God make my meaning, then I have to believe that I, and all the things I value and fought for (including those things I believe are right and just), might be lost. I'm afraid the vengeance or life-view of my "enemies" will win and I will lose.
This reality scares the bejeezus out of me, which puts me in a state of fear, vulnerability, rationalization, defensiveness, justification, projection, or disbelief – tools I use to protect "my" world. When I use these "tools," I am feeling like a victim or a potential victim or a victor, all of which means that I'm in an attack mode!
Attack thoughts come from me and at me. They are, however, one and the same. If I can get even, then someone else can get even with me. When I am angry with someone or something, there is always an element of "They caused me pain (attacked me) and that's why I'm angry (attacking them back)." Anger, Fear, Getting Even, Rationalization, Uneasiness, Vulnerability, Apprehension and Worry are all attack thoughts. Attacks coming at me are simply my thought of attack bouncing back at me. For example: I will feel an immediate uneasiness when a highway patrol car cruises by. It is an indication (attack in the form of guilt/fear) that I am speeding or have speeded in the past and "gotten away with it.” Now, I may get caught
Changing my mind is the only way out of fear that will ever succeed. Nothing else will work; everything else is meaningless. I must remember: The world I see has nothing to do with reality.
If what I see outside is being caused by my own meaningless thoughts, then there is nothing to "blame" out there; all that is needed is to correct my thoughts. Thus, I am responsible for what I see, and I can choose to change my mind.
Here’s a little correcting exercise I use when I’m upset: "I am <angry, worried, disappointed> at/because <name, situation> but I am only reacting to a world whose meaning I created from a selective memory of my past. I am determined to really see! I am neither the victim nor the victor. I do not know what anything, including this situation, means, so I do not know how to respond to it. And I will not use my own past learning as the light to guide me.” Using my own past experience/learning to guide me is to continue to make my own meaning out of the world. By not doing this it allows my Spirit Guide or Holy Spirit to speak to me and take his rightful place in my awareness. So, I ask – “I really no longer want this; Help me to see another way of looking at this situation." Then I still my mind and listen for the message of my Spirit Guide, which I call the Holy Spirit.
I hope this helps.
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
#2 March, 2014

Copyright, 2014

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