Ask: How are others just ideas in my mind?
A Course in Miracles tells
us: “Everyone makes an ego or a self
for himself, which is subject to enormous variation because of its instability.
He also makes an ego for everyone else he perceives, which is equally variable.”
(T-4.II.2) I have to admit that I have a
hard time seeing how others are just ideas in my mind. There they are, a body,
which seems so solid and real to me… (September 12, 2014)
The body, like all of the universe
of form, is only an empty symbol onto which you project the idea of a “person”.
For example, my mother died over 10 years ago and yet when I think of her I
still get a feeling that I think of as “Mom”. It’s the same feeling I had when
there was a body here onto which to project “Mom”. It’s really an aggregation
of thoughts and the feelings to which they lead that I think of as “Mom”. Sometimes
it is so vivid that it is as though she is present. So it’s pretty clear now
that Mom’s body is gone that the body could not have been the source of my
experience of “Mom”. Since I still feel her she must be an idea within me. And
since it’s the same feeling I had when there was a body here she must have
always been an idea within me.
It’s the
same with anyone who is not in the room with you right now. Think of someone
still “alive” but whose body is not with you right now. You get a feeling that
you think of as that person. That’s obviously coming from you because their body
is not present to you right now. So they are only an idea – an aggregation of
thoughts and the feelings to which they lead – in your mind. Your experience of
them is coming from you. When they are with you their body says and does
things, but those actions are meaningless in themselves. You give meaning and a
story to those actions based on your story for yourself and your story for
them. When you do not know this, you respond to the story in your mind as
though it is a fact outside of you over which you have no control. But once you
do know this you can deal with your thoughts and change your experience from
conflict to peace.
You learn
that you are mind, and that everything is an idea in your mind, by watching your
mind and seeing how it constructs with thoughts and ideas the world in which
you think you live. This does require that you slow down and pay attention to
what is going on in your mind. This is the practical way to learn that what you
perceive in the universe of form is an illusion – merely a projection of ideas
from your own mind.
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Read the books The ACIM Mentor Articles, The Plain Language A Course in Miracles, 4 Habits for Inner Peace, and Releasing Guilt for Inner Peace at www.acimmentor.com.
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Comments
By the way I would like to say I appreciate your work and owe you an enormous gratitude, and thankfulness for your insights. Blessings.
“Do not forget this: When you become disturbed and lose your Peace of mind because you perceive others in their own illusions, you are not forgiving Yourself for perceiving illusions. You are holding part of your mind away from Truth and salvation. As you forgive the personal mind’s perceptions of others, you restore Truth to your entire mind. You will see forgiveness where you have extended it.” Text Chapter 17
As to the energy swirling around your head - I cannot know what is going on within your mind. This may be a response to what you are learning but I do not know if you are allowing Truth to enter. Truth has no energy. It is formless. You know when you experience It because you feel set free from guilt and fear. But you may respond with energy to an awareness of Truth especially when It is new to you.
My Mom died last month; my Dad last year. I have found their passing to be helpful in my recognizing that ALL personal selves are ideas in my mind, in the sense that, like you said, Liz, that when I think of my Mom & Dad, it is as if they are right here with me. I get the pang of regret knowing that their physical forms are "gone," but I also get a sense of comfort in the recognition that they are always with me, always have been. I have trouble explaining it, but I think you know what I mean.
I'm working on the healing thing now, and am reading chapter 28. I have had trouble with the idea of there being no sickness, but I think I'm starting to "get" it. If I see everyone as the One Mind, and I recognize that there ARE no separate persons out there, only IDEAS of separate people, their physical manifestations being an illusion, then there can BE no illnesses to inflict the body (because there IS no body). And if I get that straight in MY mind, other minds will "get" it too -- somehow -- and be healed. And yet, if the physical symptoms do not go away, we are not to question that the healing has happened. I'm still muddling through all of that.
Will, your quote from chapter 17 really spoke to me when I read it. Thank you. I've read the Course two times through and study it regularly, and still I am always finding surprises in how it speaks to me, as if with a new Voice.
St. Augustine