Spirituality as the Light in the Darkness

           Consciousness arose to play out the idea of the opposite of God (Reality), or not-God. But as God is All and cannot have an opposite, consciousness also contains the Idea of God, or God’s Spirit, canceling out not-God. So, as it unfolds over time, consciousness is the correction of the perception of a reality opposed to God, or what A Course in Miracles calls the Atonement.

Consciousness has three parts: Conscious awareness, the subconscious, and the unconscious. Until Spirit rises to conscious awareness, It is in the unconscious or subconscious. The Atonement, then, is the process of the Idea of God (Spirit) rising to conscious awareness, in individuals, and in consciousness as a whole.

(Bear in mind, this play of the idea of not-God and the Idea of God that is consciousness/time/the Atonement, is merely symbolic and has no effect on God whatsoever.)

As Spirit rises toward conscious awareness to manifest the Atonement, this shows up as someone being drawn toward spirituality or religion, in whatever form, from whatever seeming impetus. (A mystical experience, which reveals Spirit in consciousness [the real world in the Course] or Reality beyond consciousness, would be Spirit breaking into conscious awareness, even if only briefly.) Oh, there will be some personal story about how one came to their spirituality, but the details do not matter. The Light (Spirit) is rising to the surface of consciousness darkened by the idea of not-God. The idea that makes consciousness seem to be a reality to replace Reality (God) is being undone.

Ego is the idea of not-God in an individual consciousness. Ego’s spiritualized version of itself is that it is part of God lost to God, so it embarks on a journey to get back to God. But this is the opposite of what is really occurring when one becomes spiritual. Spirituality reveals the Presence of Spirit—of Light in the darkness—as already here in your consciousness, so what seems “lost” (ego) and on a journey is a false idea that is not, has never been, and never will be part of God. It is an illusion.

When I misunderstood and thought that the spiritual journey was to get back to God, I was results-oriented in my spirituality, therefore as a teacher and mentor and life-coach. But now I understand that when students and clients come to me, this is the expression of the Atonement that has already occurred. Spirit is moving toward their conscious awareness, whether they understand this or not. Contacting me, although often for what seem to be practical goals, is the Light moving forward in the darkness of their consciousness. It is the same when they are drawn to a book or another teacher or a video on YouTube. The actions that occur do not matter. What they represent is the expression of the Atonement in the client’s mind.

 

We are not here to get to the Atonement together. We are here expressing the Atonement together.

 

And that expression is perfect because the Atonement is perfect. Oh, the details do not matter, because the Atonement happens in minds and the material results are incidental, the final, distorted—because only symbolic—expression of the Atonement.

So, you can see the Light beyond the ideas, actions, and attitudes of anyone’s spiritual, or even religious, expression. Whatever it has become (and we all know it can get ugly), it began with the Light in their mind moving toward their conscious awareness to some degree. And that Light is still there, even if twisted or covered over by the darkness (ego) again. By far, for most who are sincerely expressing spirituality, ego will ebb and flow in their minds, so that Spirit will sometimes emerge from the unconscious to the subconscious and maybe even into conscious awareness. That Light moving forward is all that matters. You can disregard the rest. 

>>>> 

If you have a question the answer to which you feel may be helpful to others, send it to Liz@acimmentor.com and indicate that you want it answered in this newsletter/blog.

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