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Ask: How do I tell if the longing to wake up is ego or Spirit?

          “Could you tell more about the factor of predetermination in one of the upcoming newsletters? Specifically, how we can discern if our longing and drive to wake up comes from the ego or from Spirit?” – D   As truth (pure consciousness) rises to conscious awareness, along with mystical experiences and/or a growing awareness of truth, it shows up as a motivation and sometimes desire for spiritual study and practice in some form. These are effects, not causes, of truth rising to conscious awareness. They may also serve as a form of preparation for changes that will occur as truth rises further in conscious awareness. It sometimes occurs that a desire for something, be it an object or situation, shows up out of the blue before the object or situation shows up. This is not a personal desire; it does not come from a sense of lack. It simply signals an awareness of what is to occur. I’ve heard the longing for greater spiritual awareness described a...
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Sorting Out the Nesting "Truths" of the Absolute, Consciousness, and Ego

            Perhaps you are aware of Russian nesting dolls—matryoshka—where a larger doll contains a smaller doll which contains an even smaller doll and so on. I’ve discovered that the absolute and consciousness and ego are like this, which is why there is confusion about which experiences are true and what is the ultimate truth, the absolute. Let’s begin with the actual only truth, the absolute . Being all, the absolute must contain the idea of its own opposite. Being all, the absolute cannot have an opposite so its opposite can only ever be an idea . It can never be real. Moreover, as soon as the idea of not-absolute arises it is simultaneously undone by the absolute’s all-encompassing nature. In the absolute, there is only the absolute. So, in the absolute, no opposite actually arises and must be undone. The idea of a truth that must undo its opposite can only be representational . These ideas play out in a “space” we call consciousness . In conscio...
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ACIM Is An Effect, Not A Cause

           Ego fell away here, but I did nothing to cause it to fall away. It happened because it was to happen. Before it fell away, ego went through many stages; it went on a “spiritual journey”. This was merely the effect of truth rising to conscious awareness here. The journey did not result in ego falling away. Truth rising to conscious awareness resulted in what looked like ego going on a “spiritual journey”. While an effect of truth, the journey had nothing to do with what truth actually is. In general terms, the journey was symbolic, an indication of truth rising to conscious awareness. But the specifics of the journey were wholly in the context of ego. This is why enlightenment was such a shock. A Course in Miracles is also an effect, not a cause. It was the result of Bill Thetford’s awakening, not the cause of it. Truth was to rise to his conscious awareness and the Course was his “spiritual journey” or “individualized curriculum”—how truth ri...
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Identifying Your Inner Teacher

            When I write articles like the past two where I emphasize the centrality of your awareness of your inner teacher (Holy Spirit) to your sense of inner peace, I hear from those who say they are not aware of their inner teacher. Everyone experiences their inner teacher at some point, but they may not identify it as such. So, let’s look at some obstacles to identifying your inner teacher.   The expectation that your inner teacher will stand out , be something dramatic, lofty, or special in some way. Your inner teacher is always in your mind, and its ordinariness may make it hard for you to pick it out from ego’s many, also familiar experiences. So, it sounds and feels like you, but a quiet, rational, detached you.   Your inner teacher is quiet , so easily lost in ego’s cacophony. However, this quiet can be how you distinguish it from ego—in time. Ego will try to be quiet to mimic it, but you will sort that out in time through othe...
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You Do Not Have to Understand ACIM

           Years ago, I had a client who had been attending a weekly A Course in Miracles study group for years. In our first session I asked, as I do if it has not already come up, about his relationship with his inner teacher (Holy Spirit). He was surprised. He told me that many of the participants in his study group could quote the Course chapter and verse, but no one discussed their inner teacher. Whatever topic someone brought up, someone else would merely quote what the Course teaches on the topic. Now he understood why he felt stuck. Once I received an email from someone who described herself and her friends as highly educated, but they were struggling to understand certain aspects of the Course . Those were aspects that would only be understood through experience. So, I asked her about her spiritual experiences. “Oh,” she wrote back. “There’s supposed to be an experience ?” Indeed, there is.   “A universal theology is impossible, but a...
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When to NOT Use ACIM

            A Course in Miracles is not dogmatic. It is not a doctrine to live by. It is not a prescription , but a suggestion , as it was for, and was written in in the context of, Helen Schucman and Bill Thetford’s relationship. No one must “get it right” or be a “good Course student”. In fact, there are times when it is most loving to yourself to put it aside. The real, lasting value of A Course in Miracles is it leads you to an awareness of, or validates an awareness you already have of, the teacher of truth (Holy Spirit) in your mind. If you get only this from it, it will have done its job in your life. If you do not have this, then the Course’s value will be limited and may not even be there for you. In fact, it might be harmful. Like anything else, the Course is a weapon in ego’s hands. The awareness of ego and how it works, the practices suggested in the Course , and the ontology and theology of the Course are not for everyone, and you do ...
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How to Not Be a Blissninny

            “Blissninny” was a term coined by Ken Wapnick to describe students of A Course in Miracles who claim everything is lovely, all is love, they see Christ in everyone, etc. without ever having gone through anything difficult to get there. He pointed out that if you are really working the Course as it is intended, it will be difficult. Ego facing itself is not a pleasant stroll in the park. If it seems to be, you are in denial; you are repressing. The way to avoid being a blissninny can be summed up in one phrase: Radical self-honesty . There is no value in denying what you really experience, unless your goal is to deceive yourself. And many do go through life like that, wearing a mask even with themselves. But that is exactly what the Course means to strip away, so why pick it up and pretend to practice it if you are not going to, well, practice it? Of course, appearing to practice it when you really don’t is a mask. Don’t confuse struggling...
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