It's The Goal, Not the Form, That You Want
There comes a time when students start to get what A Course in Miracles is saying and they start to mourn the loss of the things in the world that they love: Blue skies, sunsets, ice cream, children’s laughter, puppies, sex, shopping, attaining goals, good books, long walks, etc. But these are distractions from what you really fear that you will lose.
The things that you love in the world are really nothing to you. Not just in the spiritual sense, either. To the ego their only value is in how your attachment to them can mask what you really do not want to lose: Separation from God. Separation from God is the ego’s only goal, and everything it uses is the means to this end. So your attachments in the world only represent your real attachment to an individual self that is separate from God.
Some students embark on a path of trying to loose themselves from specific attachments. But until you let go of ego you will always be attached to something in the world. This is the form that separation takes. Attachments in the world are really attachments to ego. Sometimes you will recognize that what you seem to be attached to is pretty worthless to you. “Why do I hold on?” students ask. You hold on because you want the ego and that shows up in a specific form. Let go of one form, and another will take its place until you let go of ego completely.
This attachment to ego can take the form of “not wanting to leave the world until…” Some want to finish something, or to see a loved one grow up, or to reach a goal, or even to see some change occur in the world. But their real attachment is to separation. If you recognize that the world is only in your mind, what could you want to do in it, or want done in it? Resistance to the idea that the world is only in your mind is resistance to the idea that there is only One Mind. If there is only One Mind, where is ego? Ego seems to be many minds. At the very least, it seems to be “another” mind. But if you get that there is only One Mind, then you get that there is no ego. Mind cannot be split against Itself; It cannot be two opposing things. Your attachment to ego, to separation from God, is why you may resist for a long time the idea that the world is only in your mind.
When you find yourself attached to something in the world, remind yourself that it is not the thing that you seem to want to which you are really attached. The thing just represents your attachment to ego. This level of honesty about your real goal is important for you to work through the ego’s main distraction of presenting you with many goals that seem different, but are really all the same. It is important in sorting out Truth from illusion to understand that all illusion represents separation from God, no matter the form that it takes.
The things that you love in the world are really nothing to you. Not just in the spiritual sense, either. To the ego their only value is in how your attachment to them can mask what you really do not want to lose: Separation from God. Separation from God is the ego’s only goal, and everything it uses is the means to this end. So your attachments in the world only represent your real attachment to an individual self that is separate from God.
Some students embark on a path of trying to loose themselves from specific attachments. But until you let go of ego you will always be attached to something in the world. This is the form that separation takes. Attachments in the world are really attachments to ego. Sometimes you will recognize that what you seem to be attached to is pretty worthless to you. “Why do I hold on?” students ask. You hold on because you want the ego and that shows up in a specific form. Let go of one form, and another will take its place until you let go of ego completely.
This attachment to ego can take the form of “not wanting to leave the world until…” Some want to finish something, or to see a loved one grow up, or to reach a goal, or even to see some change occur in the world. But their real attachment is to separation. If you recognize that the world is only in your mind, what could you want to do in it, or want done in it? Resistance to the idea that the world is only in your mind is resistance to the idea that there is only One Mind. If there is only One Mind, where is ego? Ego seems to be many minds. At the very least, it seems to be “another” mind. But if you get that there is only One Mind, then you get that there is no ego. Mind cannot be split against Itself; It cannot be two opposing things. Your attachment to ego, to separation from God, is why you may resist for a long time the idea that the world is only in your mind.
When you find yourself attached to something in the world, remind yourself that it is not the thing that you seem to want to which you are really attached. The thing just represents your attachment to ego. This level of honesty about your real goal is important for you to work through the ego’s main distraction of presenting you with many goals that seem different, but are really all the same. It is important in sorting out Truth from illusion to understand that all illusion represents separation from God, no matter the form that it takes.
Comments
My favourite Old Testament book is Ecclesiastes. JC provided an extreme example of forgiveness and also the meaninglessness of the body by his crucifixion. In Ecclesiastes, Solomon [we assume] gives an extreme example of the meaninglessness of the world of form. As the World's richest man, and having indulged in every aspect of what the World could offer, he was in the best position to judge. He was unable to come up with an answer beyond the simplest of pleasures. ACIM provides just that answer. I am unable to find any more material in either the New or Old Testaments that would give me insights beyond what has been put in my hands by this Book.
Here is the Wikipedia summary of Ecclesiastes:
Ecclesiastes (often abbreviated Ecc) (Hebrew: קֹ×”ֶלֶת, Kohelet, variously transliterated as Qoheleth, Göhalath, Koheles, Koheleth, or Coheleth) is a book of the Hebrew Bible. The English name derives from the Greek translation of the Hebrew title.
The main speaker in the book, identified by the name Qohelet, introduces himself as "son of David, and king in Jerusalem." The work consists of personal or autobiographic matter, at times expressed in aphorisms and maxims illuminated in terse paragraphs with reflections on the meaning of life and the best way of life. The work emphatically proclaims all the actions of man to be inherently "vain", "futile", "empty", "meaningless", "temporary", "transitory", or "fleeting," depending on translation, as the lives of both wise and foolish men end in death. While Qohelet clearly endorses wisdom as a means for a well-lived earthly life, he is unable to ascribe eternal meaning to it. In light of this perceived senselessness, he suggests that one should enjoy the simple pleasures of daily life, such as eating, drinking, and taking enjoyment in one's wife and work, which are gifts from the hand of God.
According to Talmud however, the point of Qohelet is to state that all is futile under the sun. One should therefore ignore physical pleasures and put all one's efforts towards that which is above the Sun. This is summed up in the second to last verse: "The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for that is the whole duty of everyone."