Ask: Why are there ego-based conflicts at ACIM events?

I’ve tried to attend study groups in my area and I’ve been to ACIM-based conferences and I’m always disappointed to find the usual ego-based conflicts arising between the people there. I guess I just think that students of ACIM should know better...

            You are disappointed because you are looking for something at these events that they cannot deliver. If you are looking for God (wholeness; abiding love, peace, happiness) you will find It only within. If you are looking to understand A Course in Miracles better and to learn from others’ experiences with it you may find these at these events.
            Sometimes people confuse community with other people with communion with God. Humans are social animals and survive through cooperation. So joining with others is rewarded through the release of endorphins in your brain when you meet with others. This temporary feeling of well-being, or even of being “high”, is often confused with the joy of communion with God. But euphoria and joy are not the same experience. Euphoria is a temporary chemical experience in the brain. Joy is the experience of Being (God). When you experience true joy you know that it is eternal even if your awareness of it wavers. If you want lasting peace and joy you will find their source only in an awareness of God within you.

            You shouldn’t be surprised that when people gather together they act like people! And ACIM students are just people. Many are there, like you, looking to fill needs that the event cannot deliver. This leads to conflict as they blame others for not fulfilling their needs. But you can attend these events with the quiet awareness of the Holy Spirit within you. Then you will ignore the inevitable manifestations of ego and use the events for deepening your understanding of ACIM.

>>>>
Learn about the books The ACIM Mentor Articles, The Plain Language A Course in Miracles, 4 Habits for Inner Peace  and new! Releasing Guilt for Inner Peace new! at www.acimmentor.com.
If you have a question the answer to which you think will help others send it to Liz@acimmentor.com and indicate that you want it answered in the ACIM Mentor Newsletter/Blog.

Comments

Anonymous said…
thank you..this is clarifying and helpful and right on:)
12:45 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Committed to the Spiritual Process

If you’ve been reading my blog/newsletter for the past few weeks then you know significant things have occurred in the life of this mind. Four years ago the ego (personal thought system) fell away. I didn’t realize it fully and I spent three and a half years personally in a rather barren place in this mind, though there was peace in the rest of my mind. I did feel done with the world, but I didn’t know what that meant. I just stayed with the feeling, wondering what would come next. The next thing arrived in this mind last summer with a subtle shift from emptiness to a delicious Spaciousness. This was followed by beautiful Golden Light, Love, and Joy filling the Space. Bewilderingly, an effect of this was a romance novel! From there, the Light and the shifts continued. During this time a client in Australia whom I have called Zelda in these articles, but whose real name is Hannah, became a friend as well. We grew closer over several months and began to experience a lot of sync...
Read more

Ask: What is meant by "extend Love"?

I wonder exactly what is meant by "extend love" or how one extends love. Is it a loving intention toward the person, or a wish for them, or what? Can you give an example? – JO “Extending love” means replacing unloving thoughts in your mind with the awareness of Love in your mind. For example, your peace of mind is disturbed while watching something on television. Your peace is gone because you believe that what you see is reality. You extend Love in this situation by turning inward to Truth (God), feeling Love’s Presence within you, and remembering that It, not the images appearing, is What is Real. It may take you a while to accept that only your own thoughts cause you pain. So at first you may feel that you need to extend Love “out there” to the images that seem to be causing you pain. Or you may extend Love to another who is sharing their painful story with you. You can do this by imagining the situation or the person in a Loving Light. Or you may use some other image to ...
Read more

Evolving Practice with ACIM

           The Course was dictated to two who had a sense of Spirit working in their lives. After all, they were taking down the Course itself! The Universal Christ Mind sought to develop and grow their awareness of Spirit through the lessons in the Workbook as well as simply in discussion with them, privately and through the Course . And for those who find the Course and already have an awareness of Spirit, even if only dimly, the Course functions in the same way. Through the practice suggested, they develop their trust in Spirit. But for many who come to the Course , the discernment of Spirit within has not yet occurred. For them, practice is the means of opening to the awareness and experience of Spirit. Those who do not understand this often feel frustrated and even angry with the Course for suggesting that they should be having experiences that they do not yet have. They feel that they fall short when they read the instructions and descriptions ...
Read more