The Value of the Psychological Approach to ACIM

            A Course in Miracles can be read on two levels, from the psychological or the ontological perspective. (See last week’s article.) “Seeing differently” from the psychological perspective means a different view from ego. Asking for and accepting another way of seeing a person, situation, or yourself is something that you can practice. From the ontological perspective, “seeing differently” means a wholesale change of perception. It means Spiritual Sight, or the Vision of Spirit. You can be open to this, but you cannot practice it or make it happen.

            “Do you prefer that you be right or happy?” (T-29.VII.1)

This question in the Course exemplifies the psychological approach of the Course. It is saying that the psychological ego insists on its way of seeing, but if it is not making you happy, are you willing to see differently? This approach encompasses both ego’s larger world view as well as specific situations in which you find yourself upset. 

In my practice as a life coach and mentor for students of the Course, I can help clients with seeing another way from ego. It’s about inviting Spirit to help you see another way, it’s about reframing. Sometimes this brings relief to the client, and they are grateful. Sometimes I meet with resistance. Well, that’s the nature of the Atonement.

A problem arises, though, when clients ask direct questions about Truth. I find I cannot lie. This didn’t used to be the problem it is now, because back in the day, most students either didn’t care about or understand the nondual teachings of the Course. But this has changed in the past few years as nondual teachings have proliferated on the internet and over social media and students have gobbled it up. They are faced—intellectually—with the contradiction in the Course between the nondual teaching (none of this is real) and the dualistic practice (making the unreal more comfortable). If I were to exemplify the ontological/nondualistic perspective, the question would be:

 

“Would you rather know Truth or have a comfortable ego?”

 

The psychological approach to the Course is for making ego more comfortable. And the ontological perspective is that Truth is True and ego is not, which makes ego uncomfortable. Most everyone says that they want to know Truth because they feel that this is the “right answer”, but if they were honest, they are egos seeking to be more comfortable! This isn’t “wrong.” This is the natural effect of Spirit rising to conscious awareness, which is what spiritual teachings and spiritual paths express. Attempting to force the ontological perspective can be an obstacle to the peace available through psychological practice.

The psychological approach does not contradict the ontological perspective, it simply does not go the distance that the ontological perspective does. It heads in the direction of the ontological perspective (none of this is real) by questioning ego’s fixed point of view and revealing it as just that, a point of view. The psychological approach reveals this through the practice of asking for another way to see a person toward whom you feel a grievance or a situation in which you are upset. In time, you come to realize that whatever you look upon must be neutral because you can see it in different ways. And it must be that how you see things has always come from you. This sinks in not from telling yourself this, but from the practice of accepting another way to see.

This is no small thing! Clearing out ego’s fixed ideas from your mind at minimum makes you aware of the neutrality of consciousness and what appears in it, and that brings a kind of peace in itself as ego’s story telling loses power. At most, it makes you aware of Spirit in consciousness as the One that offers another way to see. And the more you clear space in your mind, the more space there is in your mind for Spirit. And that’s a “better”, more peaceful, experience of duality.

The value of the psychological approach to the Course is it brings a kind of peace now, right where you are, and it expresses Spirit rising toward conscious awareness. The mad rush that many students have taken toward other nondualistic teachings—it is reported to me by them—is because they feel that they need another “short cut” to peace, one that is shorter than what the Course offers. Yeah, it is tedious to face and question your fixed ideas every day. When you begin this process it’s like you’ve opened Pandora’s Box. And you have! It gets worse before it gets better. Of course. First you must see the mess that you have to clear out before you can start clearing it out. But the more you clear out, the less that is there to clear out. So, best to get started on what you can do, which is invite Spirit into your awareness to help you change ego’s perspective and accept a more peaceful experience of duality and leave the ontological approach to Spirit. If you are to shift your approach, that will come naturally.

 

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