Ask: The Mind/Body Split
I have a point on which I would love some clarity. When one’s newborn is sick and needs antibiotics for pneumonia, wouldn't the most recent message from the Course concede that one not identify with the illness as the ill body is not God Consciousness? Therefore, leading one not to treat the sick infant? When a woman bleeds every month she must take care of her body? The mind/body split has me perplexed… I can be in full loving consciousness, living out of the Love Consciousness not the fear consciousness and have a back spasm that necessitates a focus. Is one to deny this? – Anonymous
I’m not sure what you mean by “most recent message from the Course”, but A Course in Miracles is quite clear on your first question about treating an illness or not: You (or anyone that you are caring for) do not need to suffer. Take whatever is necessary to ease your discomfort or pain. The appropriate course of treatment to pursue will come into your mind as a manifestation of your choice to no longer suffer. The answer that you receive to anything that you perceive as a problem in the world is an expression of a miracle (your awareness of God), and to refrain from accepting this guidance is to deny the expression of a miracle.
A healthy body is no more God Consciousness than is an ill body. God Consciousness is an awareness that only God is Real; the body does not enter into this awareness at all. You are never a body, so it is just as erroneous to identify with a healthy body as it is to identify with a sick body. Moreover, a healthy body does not “prove” that you are aware of God anymore than a sick body “proves” that you are unaware of God. The “proof” that you are aware of God is inner peace. You can be just as aware of God when the body in your awareness is sick as when it is healthy. You can have inner peace no matter what is going on in the body or in its world.
The purpose of any spiritual path is inner peace, which is a state of mind, and what happens in the physical universe is quite irrelevant to inner peace. In fact, what causes one to be in conflict instead of peace is that one attends to what is happening in the world that they perceive, rather than to their state of mind. Inner peace is the result of your awareness of the Truth (God) within you; conflict is the result of your choosing to attend to (identify with) what is not-Truth (the personal self, body, world).
The mind/body split is this: You are mind (cause); the physical universe that you perceive, including the body, is an idea in (an effect of) your mind. This is why you only need to attend to (identify with) your mind, and you don’t have to give the world any thought. When you do, you end up back in conflict, because the body is not you, and the physical world that you perceive is not your reality.
Your sense of peace or conflict is always the result or your thoughts. “Attending to your mind” means noticing when you are not at peace and undoing the thoughts that are obstacles to your awareness of God. God is always right here within you, so, if you are not aware of God (at peace), it is because you have thoughts that are obstacles to this awareness.
You can trust that when you center your mind in Truth (God) that what the body in your awareness needs will show up as a manifestation of your mind’s Perfection. By “what the body needs” I mean not just for its health, but enough money, loving relationships, meaningful employment, etc. By “show up” I mean that what you need will come through others, through opportunities presented to you, through inspired thoughts, through the Holy Spirit’s guidance, etc. You will simply know how to direct the body. You don’t have to give this any thought. If you want to be at peace, your only part is to center your mind in Truth, and trust.
When you are in a Loving place in your mind and the body has a back spasm it is the personal thought system trying to get your attention. And it works! Just laugh, and take something for the pain. All that it means is that the personal thought system is still in your mind, and that you still have some attachment to it, or it would not affect you. But this is nothing! It is not real. Only God is Real. You do not have to take anything else seriously. If you do take what is happening to the body seriously, this only indicates that you want the body to be you. And this desire, too, is not real. The Truth (God) in you is not touched by anything that happens in the body or in its world, or by your desire for the body and its world. When you know this, you will be at peace, and nothing else will matter.
>>>>>
Learn about The Plain Language A Course in Miracles at www.placim.com.
If you have a question that you want answered in the ACIM Mentor Newsletter/Blog, contact me at Liz@acimmentor.com and indicate that you want your question answered here.
I’m not sure what you mean by “most recent message from the Course”, but A Course in Miracles is quite clear on your first question about treating an illness or not: You (or anyone that you are caring for) do not need to suffer. Take whatever is necessary to ease your discomfort or pain. The appropriate course of treatment to pursue will come into your mind as a manifestation of your choice to no longer suffer. The answer that you receive to anything that you perceive as a problem in the world is an expression of a miracle (your awareness of God), and to refrain from accepting this guidance is to deny the expression of a miracle.
A healthy body is no more God Consciousness than is an ill body. God Consciousness is an awareness that only God is Real; the body does not enter into this awareness at all. You are never a body, so it is just as erroneous to identify with a healthy body as it is to identify with a sick body. Moreover, a healthy body does not “prove” that you are aware of God anymore than a sick body “proves” that you are unaware of God. The “proof” that you are aware of God is inner peace. You can be just as aware of God when the body in your awareness is sick as when it is healthy. You can have inner peace no matter what is going on in the body or in its world.
The purpose of any spiritual path is inner peace, which is a state of mind, and what happens in the physical universe is quite irrelevant to inner peace. In fact, what causes one to be in conflict instead of peace is that one attends to what is happening in the world that they perceive, rather than to their state of mind. Inner peace is the result of your awareness of the Truth (God) within you; conflict is the result of your choosing to attend to (identify with) what is not-Truth (the personal self, body, world).
The mind/body split is this: You are mind (cause); the physical universe that you perceive, including the body, is an idea in (an effect of) your mind. This is why you only need to attend to (identify with) your mind, and you don’t have to give the world any thought. When you do, you end up back in conflict, because the body is not you, and the physical world that you perceive is not your reality.
Your sense of peace or conflict is always the result or your thoughts. “Attending to your mind” means noticing when you are not at peace and undoing the thoughts that are obstacles to your awareness of God. God is always right here within you, so, if you are not aware of God (at peace), it is because you have thoughts that are obstacles to this awareness.
You can trust that when you center your mind in Truth (God) that what the body in your awareness needs will show up as a manifestation of your mind’s Perfection. By “what the body needs” I mean not just for its health, but enough money, loving relationships, meaningful employment, etc. By “show up” I mean that what you need will come through others, through opportunities presented to you, through inspired thoughts, through the Holy Spirit’s guidance, etc. You will simply know how to direct the body. You don’t have to give this any thought. If you want to be at peace, your only part is to center your mind in Truth, and trust.
When you are in a Loving place in your mind and the body has a back spasm it is the personal thought system trying to get your attention. And it works! Just laugh, and take something for the pain. All that it means is that the personal thought system is still in your mind, and that you still have some attachment to it, or it would not affect you. But this is nothing! It is not real. Only God is Real. You do not have to take anything else seriously. If you do take what is happening to the body seriously, this only indicates that you want the body to be you. And this desire, too, is not real. The Truth (God) in you is not touched by anything that happens in the body or in its world, or by your desire for the body and its world. When you know this, you will be at peace, and nothing else will matter.
>>>>>
Learn about The Plain Language A Course in Miracles at www.placim.com.
If you have a question that you want answered in the ACIM Mentor Newsletter/Blog, contact me at Liz@acimmentor.com and indicate that you want your question answered here.
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