Ask: Why do I need to make things "right" in the world?

“Last night I watched a riveting documentary on the life and crimes of the notorious millionaire psychopath, Robert Durst. I vaguely remembered hearing about him but actually knew very little. As his Texas murder trial played out in the film, it became clear that he was going to be acquitted. Watching his slick, venal, lawyers manipulate the unsophisticated jury - and then calmly talk about their unscrupulous tactics in later interviews - I felt my stomach tighten with fear and my temples throb with rage. The duplicity of Durst's wealthy family in the cover-up, the unresolved grief of the families of his victims, and of course listening to the vile Durst himself trying to play the world for fools, added to my upset. I tried to detach from the story and contemplate why I felt so threatened for one thing, and how to return to peace (my ultimate goal in all upsets.)  The only thing I could come up with is that this case so rocked my sense of how things SHOULD have played out, I felt like I was standing on my head and needed desperately to get "my feet back on the ground". This is a pervasive theme in my life, ie. the need to "SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT" - with the right words, the right truths; How does so and so get away with that? etc. I slept badly and woke up exhausted. What do you think the lesson is here?” – ES

You believe that guilt is real. This is another way of saying that you believe that the world is real. If the world is real then guilt is real. Guilt is the “proof” that the world is real.

The world is the opposite of Truth (God) in every way. It is imperfect, dysfunctional, unfair, unjust, etc. When guilt is real to you, you see this as “wrong” or “sinful” rather than as impossible. You feel an urge to fix it according to what you feel is “right”. The world’s sin reflects to you the sin that you feel is in you. When you realize that you cannot fix the world you feel powerless and afraid. Really what you are feeling is powerless to do anything about the guilt in you. You are doomed, and this is terrifying.

The lesson here is that you are mistaken. There is no sin; there is no guilt. The world’s imperfection does not change the Perfection of Truth in any way. When you get this you will no longer see the world as “sinful” but as nothing. So it won’t upset you.

 >>>>
Learn about 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.

Comments

will said…
Going back to last week’s blog Liz wrote that there are two opposed experiences, Truth and not-Truth. She writes,

“Think of them as running parallel in your mind. You can experience both but they never intersect. They never blend. One never enters into or becomes the other.” I picture them in my mind as train rails going off into the distance.

ES is referring to the not-Truth experience. The ego. As I understand it you can’t fix the ego. Giving it undo attention only makes it more real in the mind. It has no value in terms of ACIM. You can describe how it works but in doing so “It is another way of saying the world is real.” As we step back and see that our personal mind (identity, Will or ES) is 'not-Truth' we are confronted with the conundrum of the next step in ACIM. If I can’t use me (Will or ES) what am I supposed to do?
12:40 PM
ACIM Mentor said…
Will, you use your personal (or not-True) experience to become aware of Truth. You do this by looking at what bothers you in the personal experience with the HS, Which is the part of your mind that is aware of Truth. This is how you use Will to grow your awareness of Truth.
2:04 PM
will said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
2:06 PM
will said…
A great example of a student going off on a tangent! Thanks Liz.
2:13 PM
hannah said…
i have been listening this morning to a talk by ken wapnick called 'sweet are the uses of adversity.' it is about this, about learning to look at not truth 'through the eyes' of truth. its about how learning to look in this way, rather than looking at not truth through the eyes of not truth, is the only thing we 'need' to change, to recognise that here is nothing we need change!
6:20 PM
Unknown said…
Ultimately, I am looking at past events via the TV, an ego trap which binds me to my false perception, judgements and all the "wonderful" gifts the ego has to offer. Yes, I cut off my TV and thats one less thing I have to justify my false thinking::)))
5:32 AM
will said…
There’s something wrong with the water in Westchester County where the Durst family is from:) There has been all manner of mayhem in that county dating back to the 1600’s.
10:53 PM
Anonymous said…
I really feel for the writer because I have this same tendency.

But it's hard to stop because I feel that my tendency to judge situations is "useful" especially in the political realm.

For example, I feel that one official in my town is really working on behalf of developers. I feel that I am being "helpful" by criticizing her decisions. I try to do it in an intelligent way, i.e. I don't call her any names, etc, but in the end, I guess it's still a judgement.

It's difficult to stand back when you think your town is being hurt. But perhaps this is an admission that I still believe in pain?

Any thoughts on this, Liz? I guess I wonder if I should get involved or not. I feel that if I don't get involved, I'm letting my town down so I'm feel like I'm caught between a rock and a hard place.

Thank you.
4:33 PM
ACIM Mentor said…
Anonymous, there is no right or wrong, just what's going to happen. So quiet your mind so you can get a sense of the flow of the universe. Sit in the question, "Should I get involved?" Then let it go. You will find that you quietly know the answer.
10:52 AM
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