The Itch to Share and Learning What You Teach
Apparently my last article (http://acimmentor.blogspot.com/2016/05/your-itch-to-share-is-your-own-desire.html)
was not clear because I received several questions and comments about it. So I
will attempt to clarify and answer some questions here.
The point of the article was that one’s urgency, or “itch”, to
share what they learn while studying A
Course in Miracles is their own desire to “get” what they are studying. You
read something in ACIM that you get at a shallow intellectual level and you
find yourself with a strong urge for others to get it, too. What occurs is that
you, as the split-mind (decision-maker), want the lesson to go deeper for
yourself. But the ego (personal though system) in your mind projects this
desire outward and sees the lack in others. They
need this; you already have it. The ego pushes away your desire for the lesson
to go deeper by seeing it “out there”. It does not want you to get the idea
more deeply.
But doesn’t ACIM teach “what you give you receive” or “what
you teach you learn”? Yes. But both the ego and the Holy Spirit can use the
same ideas. So what ACIM means is that you reinforce a thought system in your
mind when you share from it with
others. If you share an idea from the ego you reinforce the ego in your mind.
If you share an idea from the Holy Spirit you reinforce your awareness of
Truth. So in last week’s article I emphasized from where the itch to share an idea came from within you. When you
feel urgency you can be sure that you feel the ego.
The ego’s itch for others to get an idea is not about you
teaching to learn the idea more deeply yourself. It is only about projecting
guilt (your own imperfection - you do not really fully get the idea yourself
yet) onto others. They lack; you don’t. So your itch for others to get it is a
projection of your own desire to get it. And your teaching from the ego will
only reinforce your sense of lack and guilt. You will find yourself emotionally
charged up when you teach. [For some the ego is also so insecure that this
shows up as wanting to teach others to show that they (the teacher) are
superior to them (the student)].
When you are ready to integrate an idea you may be moved by
the Holy Spirit to share it to reinforce both the Holy Spirit and the idea
within you. Teaching then flows out of you naturally, without the emotional
charge that indicates it comes from the ego. For myself, I have never taught from
a place of urgency. If I cannot put the ego aside and hear the Holy Spirit I
keep my mouth shut. And anyway, if I am not ready to teach an idea from the
Holy Spirit, either in speaking or writing, the words just will not flow. I
cannot approach the idea with any depth, nor could I answer further questions
about it. This does not mean that when I teach an idea I fully get it yet. But
it does mean that it is in me enough to teach it from more than a shallow
intellectual understanding. The process of teaching deepens my understanding
until eventually I see the idea from every angle. That’s why you can see my own
evolution with concepts over time. What I taught about a concept 2, 5, 10 years
ago is not what I teach today.
>>>>>
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
1) I was cautioning students to look at from where they want to teach so that they do not inadvertently reinforce the ego in their mind.
2) The comments on my blog are highly subjective and they do reflect the mind of the writer of the comment. They are not their to provide clarity but for students to share with each other if they wish. However, as you can see, readers will use the comment section as they wish, not necessarily for the purpose for which I have for it.
3) Yes, the Course is all about being in a process (incremental learning). And yes, it does begin with superficial intellectual shifts. The point of the article was to encourage readers to recognize both when their learning is superficial and therefore not yet ready to be shared and that over time a concept will go in deeper if they follow the Holy Spirit thought system in your mind.
endless Love, n
i am revisiting your blog this evening, after a day of intermittent recalling past experiences that deal with this teaching. i've experienced both the ego-impulse and HS inspired ways of Course sharing you describe here, and recognize how they feel and manifest.
there is one other event that happens often with me in the acim study group i attend. i am generally reticent about participating, particularly when there are discussions i could lend some perspective on. (one ex: a recurring theme of discussing the ego as if it were a small and naughty but separate part of the personal mind, and the agreed upon injunction to deal with it by resistance and pushing against it, something i could help with.) what often happens is the emotional charge appears as a strong heart pounding anxiety. clearly fear is the personal mind-ego, and a reminder of a childhood pattern of acute stage fright. i have the desire to want to help my fellow group friends, but during those times am too nervous (and rightfully i think) untrusting of the ego impulse i believe is behind it. i have called on HS when these episodes unfold but sometimes the fear is too overriding to make a connection. so i interpret this to mean i should remain silent, and do. have you have any thoughts on this? up to this point i am waiting until i am home (or on the driving there) and then gently turning the fear over to HS for correction and healing.
ever grateful for your help, nicci
I can relate to the "stage fright" issue you talk about. The issue under discussion in the last 2 blogs is a thorny one. To teach or not to teach - that is the question. What threw me off was Liz's "keeping my mouth shut" comment in referring to her own brake on teaching something before fully understanding it. The meaning I read into it was like a sledge hammer admonition. However, she also said that her teaching has evolved over time. She also gave a nice clarification of incremental growth and the possibility of inadvertently reinforcing the ego with teaching something that was not fully understood in response to my questions above. So think about it, what can the worst outcome possibly be for you to offer a suggestion in your group? A mistake? The hand of God coming down to get you? Something that "never happened" anyway? We all need to need to take it easy and remember that most of us are in that long and difficult "Sorting Out" period, so sort out we must. You sound sincere. You can't be too far off base.
endless Love, n
endless Love, n
Also, looking deeper at the concept of this self, I wrote in my journal, "who is that, that I am? Who is that that is always reliable, conscientious, wise? To be the Self, I don't have to be any of these things. I don't have to prove I am any of that. I Am worthy as Presence and Presence is quiet calm stillness. It is my ego that wants to be all that specialness stuff. Spirit just Is.
More insight is rising but for now, I will practice quiet.
Deb
I see this phrase pop up every now and then on the net.
Right away it sounds illogical .... ego and spirit
sound imcompatible
What gives with this strange phrase ?
spiritual ego is just a concept. It's basically when you get on a soapbox and try to judge others by coming off as more "spiritual". You try to give advice where it's not needed, to deny your basic needs for "spiritual aspirations" etc etc.
Ken Wapnick likened it to course students that show up to funerals and try to tell people to stop mourning because this is only an illusion, after all! They wear all white and try to "spread the miracles" to people who really don't want it.
Spirituality, like any other illusion in this world, can be used to separate or to join. Spiritual ego is when you use it to separate from others, often without even knowing.
:-)
Thank you for your interest!