Ask: Can sex be a means of holy communication?
I have been attempting to understand how sex might connect us to divinity. I've read the ACIM urtext. I've read your piece, "Sex and the Course Student."
Remember that the Holy Spirit interprets the body only as a means of communication. (T-8.VII.2)
If this is the case, then can sex not be a means of …holy communication? A man I know, who says he is a teacher of the Course, has decided that his assignment from God is to meet as many souls as possible for holy encounters involving "transcendent sex." He says his encounters have nothing to do with sex and the body but, rather, love and spirit. Is this really possible? Or is it a misunderstanding of the message of the Course? Is there such a thing as a misuse of the Course?I've had a few beautiful sexual experiences, and it seems the pleasure that spreads across my body brings me "higher," but I wonder if that's just my ego tricking me?...this man says that he believes Jesus was being cautious with His statements about sex. Also, he says the HS is doing Its miracle work through him. – Anonymous
First, let me address your question about the possibility of A Course in Miracles being misused. Like all form, the Course is itself neutral. It is simply a collection of words, and words are symbols of whatever you want them to represent. If you want to stay in conflict they will represent the ideas in your mind promoted by the personal thought system (ego). If you want peace you will open your mind to the Teacher of Truth (Holy Spirit) in you as you read it. They will then be used to lead you back to peace. I have yet to meet a student of the Course who did not initially misuse the Course at least to some extent, often for many, many years. This is because we all bring with us the guilty, fearful filter of the personal thought system and we have to learn to put it aside and open our minds only to the Teacher of Truth. You can be sure that if you read it and you feel an increase in guilt and/or fear you are reading it with the personal thought system. When you read it with the Teacher of Truth you will feel liberated and at peace, even though the personal thought system might not like what you read.
Be aware that when you read the urtext of the Course that some of what was in it that was taken out before the book was published (including passages about sex) was intended specifically for Helen Schucman and/or Bill Thetford. Reading what is specifically intended for someone at a specific time in their understanding of Truth can be confusing when it is read by others. This was why Helen and Ken Wapnick were guided to take out those passages when they were organizing it for publication. As it is, the Course is still pretty specific to Helen and Bill’s relationship, but what was left in can be easily generalized by the rest of us.
With regard to sex the Course states specifically in the first paragraph of part II of Chapter 1 that physical relationships cannot achieve the experience of Oneness that you really want and can find only in God. The Course also teaches that only minds can truly commune. When speaking of the body as a communication device it makes it clear that the communication is the point, not the device. The point of all physical pleasure, as well as pain, is to distract your mind with a body, not to transcend an awareness of a body. This is why pain and pleasure are really the same.
You do not need any device to communicate with God. You only need to turn your mind inward, away from the universe of form, including bodies. The same goes for truly communing with others. True communion can never happen between bodies or personal, or separate, minds. But when I turn inward to God and you turn inward to God we go to the exact same Place. So only by turning inward to God can you truly commune with anyone. The only value the body has in this process is what is occurring now – this mind is communicating through this body via a computer (another communication device) to your mind, reminding you to turn inward to Truth if you want peace.
The “high” that you may feel from sex is caused by endorphins and is not the joy you feel when you are aware of Truth (God). It is no different than taking drugs to feel euphoric. Both induce a temporary state. True joy is not euphoria and, though it may pass in your awareness, when you experience it you know that it is true and eternal.
A miracle is a shift in your awareness toward Truth. This occurs in your mind. It may or may not result in action taken in the world. You cannot work a miracle on another. Another can only experience a miracle if they accept the experience of it within their own minds.
Do not take from any of this the idea that sex is “wrong” or “bad”. As I said in the article you mentioned (http://acimmentor.blogspot.com/2007/04/sex-and-course-student.html) in Truth sex is nothing.
>>>>>
Learn about the books The Plain Language A Course in Miracles, The ACIM Mentor Articles, and 4 Habits for Inner Peace at www.acimmentor.com.
If you have a question that you want answered in the ACIM Mentor Newsletter/Blog send it to Liz@acimmentor.com and indicate that you want it answered here.
Remember that the Holy Spirit interprets the body only as a means of communication. (T-8.VII.2)
If this is the case, then can sex not be a means of …holy communication? A man I know, who says he is a teacher of the Course, has decided that his assignment from God is to meet as many souls as possible for holy encounters involving "transcendent sex." He says his encounters have nothing to do with sex and the body but, rather, love and spirit. Is this really possible? Or is it a misunderstanding of the message of the Course? Is there such a thing as a misuse of the Course?I've had a few beautiful sexual experiences, and it seems the pleasure that spreads across my body brings me "higher," but I wonder if that's just my ego tricking me?...this man says that he believes Jesus was being cautious with His statements about sex. Also, he says the HS is doing Its miracle work through him. – Anonymous
First, let me address your question about the possibility of A Course in Miracles being misused. Like all form, the Course is itself neutral. It is simply a collection of words, and words are symbols of whatever you want them to represent. If you want to stay in conflict they will represent the ideas in your mind promoted by the personal thought system (ego). If you want peace you will open your mind to the Teacher of Truth (Holy Spirit) in you as you read it. They will then be used to lead you back to peace. I have yet to meet a student of the Course who did not initially misuse the Course at least to some extent, often for many, many years. This is because we all bring with us the guilty, fearful filter of the personal thought system and we have to learn to put it aside and open our minds only to the Teacher of Truth. You can be sure that if you read it and you feel an increase in guilt and/or fear you are reading it with the personal thought system. When you read it with the Teacher of Truth you will feel liberated and at peace, even though the personal thought system might not like what you read.
Be aware that when you read the urtext of the Course that some of what was in it that was taken out before the book was published (including passages about sex) was intended specifically for Helen Schucman and/or Bill Thetford. Reading what is specifically intended for someone at a specific time in their understanding of Truth can be confusing when it is read by others. This was why Helen and Ken Wapnick were guided to take out those passages when they were organizing it for publication. As it is, the Course is still pretty specific to Helen and Bill’s relationship, but what was left in can be easily generalized by the rest of us.
With regard to sex the Course states specifically in the first paragraph of part II of Chapter 1 that physical relationships cannot achieve the experience of Oneness that you really want and can find only in God. The Course also teaches that only minds can truly commune. When speaking of the body as a communication device it makes it clear that the communication is the point, not the device. The point of all physical pleasure, as well as pain, is to distract your mind with a body, not to transcend an awareness of a body. This is why pain and pleasure are really the same.
You do not need any device to communicate with God. You only need to turn your mind inward, away from the universe of form, including bodies. The same goes for truly communing with others. True communion can never happen between bodies or personal, or separate, minds. But when I turn inward to God and you turn inward to God we go to the exact same Place. So only by turning inward to God can you truly commune with anyone. The only value the body has in this process is what is occurring now – this mind is communicating through this body via a computer (another communication device) to your mind, reminding you to turn inward to Truth if you want peace.
The “high” that you may feel from sex is caused by endorphins and is not the joy you feel when you are aware of Truth (God). It is no different than taking drugs to feel euphoric. Both induce a temporary state. True joy is not euphoria and, though it may pass in your awareness, when you experience it you know that it is true and eternal.
A miracle is a shift in your awareness toward Truth. This occurs in your mind. It may or may not result in action taken in the world. You cannot work a miracle on another. Another can only experience a miracle if they accept the experience of it within their own minds.
Do not take from any of this the idea that sex is “wrong” or “bad”. As I said in the article you mentioned (http://acimmentor.blogspot.com/2007/04/sex-and-course-student.html) in Truth sex is nothing.
>>>>>
Learn about the books The Plain Language A Course in Miracles, The ACIM Mentor Articles, and 4 Habits for Inner Peace at www.acimmentor.com.
If you have a question that you want answered in the ACIM Mentor Newsletter/Blog send it to Liz@acimmentor.com and indicate that you want it answered here.
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