The Teaching Teachers

In A Course in Miracles you are told that you are always teaching, and that you are always teaching only yourself. What you are teaching yourself is what you believe that you are. Come from ego and you teach yourself that you are ego. Come from Spirit and you teach yourself that you are Spirit - you are being what the Course calls a “teacher of God”. This is occurring within you every moment. You never really learn from others; you learn from the teacher within you that you choose at any given moment. Read a book, or listen to someone speak, and you will read and hear what you have chosen to learn about yourself.

The world thinks of teaching as something you do for others. You may accept that what you teach you learn, but if you are a teacher you are supposed to see yourself helping others in some way. But the Course shows us that there are no “others” to help. Everything is your mind. You do not live in a world, but in your thoughts about a world. You are always only relating to your own thoughts. So why do some students of the Course take a worldly teaching role and seem to teach “others”?

Sometimes students tell me that they just want to go off into a cave somewhere and commune with God for the rest of their lives. The Course tells us that that is a long way around to God, and it offers us a path to use right in the world that is a short cut. If you were to find peace by withdrawing from the world how could you be certain that you have really undone conflict in your mind? Conflict is not undone by avoiding it but by facing it, seeing its unreality, and letting it go. By engaging with the world everyday you confront your belief in separation everyday, and you have the opportunity to forgive it. Teaching in the world is the same process. Ideas rattling around in my mind are never challenged, but a soon as I think of writing or saying it “out there” my own mind is full of projecting how others might respond to it. Of course what I think “others” might say are really my own thoughts. Now I get to look at these thoughts that challenge the ideas I’m teaching. Some of them will help me hone the idea as I clarify it, others will help me see where I still have fearful or erroneous thoughts. Then when I do teach the thoughts “out there” I am confronted by opportunities to clarify, and hone, and overcome challenges presented by “others”. Some of the comments that seem to come from outside of me will go right by me, but the comments that bother me give me an opportunity to see why I agree with them on some level, and what I have to work through.

Some students tell me that they hope that they never feel called upon to teach in the world – it doesn’t appeal to them at all. And not everyone will. This is just the way that some of us learn. Just remember that you are always teaching, and that you are always teaching yourself through the thoughts that you project (ego) or extend (Spirit) about “the world” and “others”.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Dear Liz,

>> But the Course shows us that there are no “others” to help. Everything is your mind. <<

A literal reading and thorough understanding of the Course points to Jesus as the leader of the Atonement, in charge of the Sonship, and one of several " special agents" to assist the separated members of the Sonship to return home. Jesus explains that God created all minds equal, and that there is multiplicity, individuality while perfect Oneness is prevalent. A concept of many as One. There defenitely are "others", although we are one.
And equality, according to Jesus, does not mean " homogeneity now".

So, denying our brothers' existence is really shutting off the way of the Atonement. Which is not such a good idea.

Thanks, 1love, maz
will said…
Liz,

A good reminder about staying out there and learning. When it gets too busy I just want to retreat to the cave. I think I understand the Course, the ego, the lessons, until I'm in conflict with someone or its just getting too crazy and then I have to put it into practice and it's back to basics again.

Maz, Are you mixing levels?

will
ACIM Mentor said…
Maz, my reading of the Course is through my direct experiences of Oneness with God through revelation, and with "another" in a Holy relationship. My revelations have taught me that God is One, and that only God is Real. My experience of the Holy relationship, where I had a literal experience of "another" as my One Self, taught me that my relationships with others are all in my mind. If I experience Oneness with another in my mind, then obviously my experience of separation is also only in my mind.

Healing your mind, Maz, means accepting that you are always relating only to your own thoughts. The separation resulted in your mind being split between "you" and what seems like a world outside of you. The Holy relationship is an experience that shows you that the world is not outside of you. It begins with one relationship, but this lesson must be extended to all that you perceive. Then as the perception of Oneness (what the Course calls the "real world") replaces your perception of separation your mind is healed and ready for the Oneness of God again.
Anonymous said…
To know how to teach, we must know how students think. See "Teaching and Helping Students Think and Do Better" on amazon.

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