Several comments from readers about
last week’s message suggested they believed that a change in perception was a simple
matter of will power. I think that is partially true, but there are different
levels of perception. Let me explain.
There is a saying: “Change the way you look at situations,
events, or people and the situations, events, and people will change.”
This, I believe, is true on two levels. One level that this appears to be true
is what I call the one-dimensional level. The second level of this adage is on a
spiritual level.
On this one-dimensional level
Felix (my ego) will try to force a different way of looking at things. This
will work with a modicum of success. Then,
quite often, Felix will try to manipulate this new “trick” of his into getting
what he wants.
However, when I am really
hurting (frustrated, exasperated, disappointed, angry, etc.) I’ll finally ask
the Holy Spirit, or the Voice for the God of my understanding, to show me
another way of looking at situations, events, or people. All I have to do is be
willing to listen for His Voice. It
will always be the quiet whisper amidst the other voices that I’ll hear.
I have two “selfs” according to
A Course In Miracles (ACIM): an egoic mind-self and my True-Self. Within my
egoic mind-self I have a lower self and a higher self or a lower mind and a
higher mind. My lower, egoic mind (Felix) cannot will itself to become my
True-Self. Neither can my higher mind (or self. Either is like trying, with all
my might, to truly lift myself up by my own bootstraps. It is impossible.
However, my higher mind can
comprehend that something is really wrong with my perception of the world. It
wants to change (which scares the bejeezus out of Felix) but cannot of its own
volition. But, unlike Felix, it can be truly willing to see things differently. And ACIM teaches that is all
that’s necessary. Be willing. Truly ask for the Voice for God to help you see
things differently and you will be answered.
When I ask for a different way
of looking at things, I begin to see glimpses of another world – another level
of True Existence – the spiritual. This reminds me of an earlier message I
wrote [July, 2012; “Staying In The Is-Ness….”] about Australian Aborigines and
their “Songlines” and concept of “The Dreaming.”
From the novel, The Dreaming, by Barbara Wood, Random House,
Inc., 1991, pages 429, 431: While discussing various Aboriginal tribal
practices and ideas, “[t]he more complex
concepts had been less easy to understand, such as the way Aborigines regarded
time. Everything revolved around the Dreamtime, which Joanna had discovered,
occurred not only in the past, but also in the present and the future. They had
no words, in fact, for past, present and future – all was Dreamtime. And the
clan had no separate words for yesterday, today and tomorrow, just the word
punjara, which simply meant ‘another day.’ (p. 429).
“… Joanna saw the powerful bond between the various female relations
and the other generations. She saw with envy the stairway she had imagined long
ago – the descent of women from great-grandmothers to daughters. The smallest
child could look at a white-haired woman bent over her digging stick and see
the generations through which she had descended. Perhaps, Joanna thought, that
was why these people had no need for words meaning past, present and future.
They were all here now.” (p. 431)
These simple Aboriginal peoples,
whose oral history dates back over an estimated 50,000 years, had already
nailed it! “They had no words, in fact, for past, present and future – all was
Dreamtime.” With all my smarts, education, technology, and gizmos, why is this
so difficult for me to grasp? Why do I persist in planning, worrying, fretting,
and beating myself up for perceived future problems or issues?
“Well, Donnie, it’s an
indication of maturity. It’s a predictor of success (whatever that is). It’s the
wise and prudent thing to do.” I guess that’s why I persist.
But it makes me miserable. I
don’t enjoy life on Mother Nature’s terms. I get angry at bugs that eat my okra leaves. I get frustrated at a
5-week drought that really stresses my
yard. I get really irritated at the deer and/or rabbits that eat my Joe Pye Weed plantings. I get
saddened at my trees that are
uprooted or snapped off from high winds and heavy rain.
Notice all the MY’s in that paragraph. Yep. My
perceptions of events are simply unreal projections of my mind. They only exist
in the universe that resides between my ears. Yet, they ruin my enjoyment of
life as it unfolds. Because my perception is active, I can always compare
what’s happening now to what I thought shoulda/coulda/oughta be happening. It’s
never a pretty picture. It’s rarely happy resulting in contentment.
I have a sense of ownership – I
possess therefore I am. I have a sense of being responsible for what I have. A
sense of having – and then needing to worry about keeping and maintaining. The
unspoken premise? There isn’t really enough. Maybe all that’s what takes the
edge off simply enjoying the Now – living in the “is-ness.” I am trying to
de-clutter my mind and get back to where the Aborigines have always been. They
are supposed to be ignorant, uneducated natives who just happen to be happy and
at peace. Yet, I am supposed to be smart and sophisticated and competitive and
forward-thinking. But I am stressed, worried, and can’t sleep many nights.
I also attempt to apply the principles
of AA to my spiritual growth. An AA adage states: “Just for today, don’t drink, go to a meeting, share openly and
honestly, work the Steps, talk to your sponsor, pray, and the rest of your life
is none of your business.” Within the structure of ACIM’s wisdom I can
apply a similar approach: Just for today, read and practice the daily lesson in
the Course Workbook, read a passage from the Course Text or the Manual for
Teachers, remember that I am not what I think and I don’t have to believe everything
I think, remember that I am responsible for not paying attention to the
chatter in my mind, remember I am not upset for the reason I think, and
remember the Holy Spirit will always give me another way of looking at people
or events, if I truly ask, am truly
willing, and then listen for His whispered answer.
With practice, a little
discipline, and perseverance perhaps I can become a 21st Century
Tennessee Aborigine – spiritual, simple, focused, happy, joyous and free.
Don
#1 Apr 2017
Copyright
2017
PS:
I’ll be out of town for several weeks. Messages will continue, but not for a
while.
