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The Christ Consciousness and How to Achieve It
"Forgiveness is the key to happiness."
A Course In Miracles
By
Dr. Joshua David Stone
Around 20 years ago a woman by the name of Helen Schuman channeled a set of books called, "A Course in Miracles". These books were written by Jesus Christ and then telepathically channeled to Helen much like the Alice A. Bailey books were channeled to Alice Bailey from the Master Djwhal Khul.
I can honestly say that in the last twenty two years these two sets of books have had a more profound effect on me than anything else I have ever studied. "A Course in Miracles" is basically a course in attitudinal healing. The basic premise of these books is that there are two ways of thinking or philosophies of life and only two.
Every person in the world falls into one or the other. There is the voice of the spirit or of the Christ, and then there is the voice of the ego. This could also be stated as the voice of your Higher Self or the voice of your lower self; the voice of the Self or the voice of the self; the voice of the big "I", or the voice of the little "i"; the voice of the Holy Spirit or the voice of glamour, maya, and illusion; the voice of the "Self" or the voice of the "not-self"; the voice of the Holy Spirit of the voice of the negative ego.
We are conditioned as children and by society to think and interpret life from the negative ego's perspective This is why so many people are filled with so many negative feelings, emotions, and lack of inner peace.
"A Course in Miracles" teaches in a very systematic way, how to change and undo the negative ego's thinking, and how to hence think with your Christ mind. Did not it say in the Bible, "Let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus." Jesus, as we know, was a man and human being just like you and I, who became the embodiment of the Christ by becoming one with the Christ consciousness.
The Christ consciousness is not just for Christians. The Christ consciousness, the Buddha consciousness, the Krishna consciousness, God consciousness, and the consciousness of all religions are all the same thing. Many people have a lot of negative programming behind their religious upbringing. It is important here not to get caught up in the words, or semantics. It is also important to understand that whatever religion, or spiritual path you are on, I suggest you keep it.
The new religion of the future is the one that honors and recognizes all religions and all spiritual paths, for they all lead to the same place. The introduction to "The Course in Miracles" states: "This is a Course in Miracles. It is a required course. Only the time you take it is voluntary."
Free will does not mean that you can establish the curriculum. It means only that you can elect what you want to take at a given time. The Course does not aim at teaching the meaning of love for that is beyond what can be taught. It does aim, however, at removing the blocks to the awareness of love's presence, which is your natural inheritance. The opposite of love is fear, but what is all-encompassing can have no opposite.
A Course in Miracles, for most people, is a very difficult book to understand and read. One of my biggest purposes in writing this particular chapter is to take the essence of the Course's teaching and make it very easy to understand. Even if you never read "A Course in Miracles" you will get the essence of it in this chapter.
I know in my personal spiritual path and evolution, a chapter explaining and summarizing the course in simple to understand language, would have been very beneficial to me. I think you will find this chapter extremely illuminating. I have also expounded on the Course's teachings to make them more universalistic to all religions and all spiritual paths which a person may be exploring. I have also added many of my own ideas to give the reader a very complete understanding of what the "Christ consciousness" really means.
This course can be summed up very simply in this way:
"Nothing real can be threatened
Nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the Peace of God."
A Course in Miracles is a required course, the introduction says. What this means is not that everyone has to study "A Course in Miracles", but rather everyone has to learn to think with their Christ, Buddha, Krishna, Elohim, Allah, or God mind. The Lord Sai Baba has said that the definition of God is that "God equals man minus ego."
You cannot pass your spiritual initiations and realize God without transcending the selfish, separative, fear based mind of your ego. The curriculum is set, and "A Course in Miracles" is just one form, or tool, for learning these lessons.
The Course does not aim at teaching the meaning of love for that is beyond what can be taught. It does aim at removing the blocks to the awareness of love's presence, which is your natural inheritance. This brings us to the core of "A Course in Miracles" teachings which is that God created us, and our true identity is the Christ.
In other words we are each sons and daughters of God, made in God's image. God is love so we are love. We don't have to become love, love is what we are. It is only the negative ego programming and conditioning that covers this in us.
We are each like diamonds with mud on us. Our path on earth is to clear away the mud so our true diamond nature can shine. Even Jesus said, in the New Testament, "Everything that I can do, you can do and more." I don't think He was lying.
The fundamental Christian church has misinterpreted His message. Sure Jesus was the son of God, but so are we. In the Buddhist religion you would say that we each are the Buddha. In the Hindu religion we each are the Atma, or Eternal Self. In the old testament the Jewish prophets said, "Ye are Gods and know it not." They also said "Ye are Gods and children of the Most High." David, in the Psalms, said, "Be still and know, I am God."
This is why "A Course in Miracles" introduction says, nothing real can be threatened and nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the Peace of God. Your true identity as the Christ or the Buddha, or Atma, or Eternal Self cannot be changed. That is how God created you. You can think you are something other than this but this does not change reality. You are the Christ, the Buddha, the Atma, the Eternal Self, whether you like it or not.
The reason you have no choice is that you didn't create yourself, God created you. The spiritual path is really not trying to get any place, it is just the reawakening to who you are. The second step being the practice of being your "Self" in daily life.
Where Did the Negative Ego Come From?
The negative ego did not come from God, it came from man's misuse of free choice. Man is the only creature that has the ability to think out of harmony with God. The fall that the Bible refers to occurred when we, as Monads, or individualized sparks of God, chose to come into matter. It wasn't the coming into matter that caused the fall, it was the over-identification with matter. It was that moment when we thought we were a physical body rather than a God being inhabiting or using this physical body.
In thinking we were a physical body, then came the illusion of separation from God, and separation from our brothers and sisters. Then came selfishness, fear, and death as real. From these faulty premises a whole thought system developed that was based on illusion, maya, and glamour.
We have spent hundreds of incarnations caught up in this illusion. The amazing thing is that what "A Course in Miracles" teaches is that the fall never really happened. We just think it did. The basic law of your mind is that it is your thoughts that create your reality. Your feelings, emotions, behavior, and what you attract and magnetize into your life all come from your thoughts.
Is the glass of water half empty or half full? Are you optimistic or pessimistic? Do you look at what happens in life as teachings, lessons, challenges and opportunities to grow, or do you look at things as bummers, problems, aggravations, irritations, and upsets? It is how you think, and interpret, and perceive that will determine how you feel in any given situation.
We have always been the Christ, the Buddha, the Atma, the Eternal Self, and have always been one with God. All of our negative egotistical thinking has not changed this one single bit.
A good metaphor for this could be relating it to dreaming. When you have a nightmare or bad dream at night and wake up from it you are relieved that it was just a dream. When you were dreaming it, however, it seemed so real. Well, I say to you now in this "holy instant", WAKE UP!!!
Wake up from the negative hypnosis you have been living in, thinking you are unworthy, unlovable, inferior, separate from God, powerless... In this holy instant wake and realize that you are the Christ, Buddha, the Atma, the Eternal Self. You have always been and always will be.
The great saint from India, Ramana Maharshi, said that the spiritual path is like a person who comes to Him asking His help in finding a necklace she has lost for the last forty years. Ramana Maharshi says, well, what's that you are wearing around your neck? The woman, all of a sudden, realized that she had been wearing the necklace all along. Well, that is how the spiritual path is. You don't have to find God, you already are God and have been all the time. It is the insane voice of the ego, or separative mind that keeps us lost in glamour, maya, and illusion.
Sai Baba says, "Your mind creates bondage, or your mind creates liberation." A lot of people down play the mind as though it were not important. As Sai Baba says, it is your mind and how you manage it that will determine if you achieve liberation or remain in bondage.
Heaven and hell are places but they are first states of mind. When the ego is your guide and teacher you are in hell. When the spirit and soul consciousness is your teacher, you are in heaven. Buddha, in His four noble truths said that all suffering comes from wrong points of view.
How do you interpret life? Do you interpret it from the negative ego's set of glasses or from the Buddha's or Christ's set of glasses. It is important to understand that you don't just see with your eyes, you see with your mind, through your belief systems.
The major work of the spiritual path is clearing out all the negative egotistical beliefs from the conscious and subconscious mind, and replacing them with the Christ and Buddhist and spiritual pattern. The rest of this chapter will get into more specific detail as how to do this.
The Authority Problem
The authority problem has to do with the core issue of who is the ultimate authority in life. The Course teaches that the ultimate authority is God, and it is God that created us. The ego tells you, however, that God doesn't exist because you can't see Him with your physical eyes, and hence He or It is the ultimate authority. Hence the ego tells you that you are just a physical body, not the Christ living in a physical body.
The ludicrousness of the ego is quite obvious, because God created us, and we created the ego, however we have been letting the ego be the ultimate authority. It is time for us to recognize and own our personal power and authority over our selves. It is time for us to gain mastery over our mind, our emotions, our physical body, and our ego.
It is not God's job to get rid of our ego, it is our job. We created it, so we can get rid of it. God could do it but this would be like giving birth to a child and doing everything for the child and adolescent. If we did this then the child and future adolescent would grow up to be completely incapable.
If God did it for us then we would be incapable, and there would be no reason to incarnate into this school called earth life. God doesn't need to learn these lessons, we do. One of the lessons of "A Course in Miracles" is that "my salvation is up to me".
God has already given us everything. It is we who have separated ourselves from God, by listening to the voice of the ego. In reality we have never been separated, however in our consciousness, or perception of reality we are. This can be easily changed by just changing our thoughts. The Bible says, "Be ye transformed by the renewal of your mind." "As a man thinketh so is he." Lincoln said, "A man is as happy as he makes up his mind to be." I think it was Emerson who said, " A man is what he thinks about all day long."
It is time for us to wake up and snap out of this self created hell of our own negative thinking. It is time to get in control of our subconscious mind and stop letting it push us around. It is meant to be our servant, not our master.
How is This Accomplished?
The process of accomplishing this attitudinal healing is, in actuality, very simple. What I would recommend is that you imagine that you are surrounded by a golden bubble which protects you from the outside world and other people, and also protects you from your own subconscious mind.
In other words, I would like you to imagine that all of your thoughts, feelings, impulses, desires, images, are all out side of your golden bubble. All of what is termed the content of consciousness is outside of the bubble.
The idea then, is that every time a thought, feeling, or impulse arises from your subconscious mind, that you make it stop at the gate of the bubble, almost as if there is a guard there checking its passport. If the thought or feeling or impulse is positive, loving, spiritual, balanced, Christ-like, of God, then let it through the bubble and into your mind.
If the thought, feeling impulse, or desire is negative, egotistical separative, selfish, fear based, imbalanced, and not of God, then push it out of your mind. "A Course in Miracles" states, "Deny any thought that is not of God to enter your mind."
You must understand that the mind works like the physical body. If you want to be physically healthy you must eat good food. If you eat bad food or spoiled food you will get physically sick. The same thing applies to your mind. If you want to be mentally and emotionally, and spiritually healthy, you must let only positive God-like thoughts into your mind. If you let negative egotistically thoughts into your mind you will become mentally emotionally and spiritually sick.
It is not God or the Ascended Master's job to control your mind, that is your job. One of the most important principles of "A Course in Miracles" is to be "vigilant for God and His kingdom." Most people are not vigilant enough over their mental and emotional diet. They live on what I call automatic pilot. They are not conscious, aware, alert, over the thoughts, or feelings, they allow into their mind from the subconscious mind and from the outside world. Most people do not have enough detachment, spiritual discernment, or spiritual discrimination.
When you push a thought out of your mind, it can be likened to a plant that is not being watered. It withers and dies from lack of attention. After pushing the negative thought out of your mind the idea is to then switch your mind like a TV station to the opposite positive spiritual or Christ-like thought, feeling, and image. This is like a new seed that sinks into the soil of the subconscious mind and sprouts.
The law of the mind is that it takes 21 days to cement any new habit into the subconscious mind. After 21 days it will be automatic to think with your Christ mind. It will not even be difficult. It will be a "habit". A lot of people think that habits are always bad. They are not necessarily. The idea is to fill your subconscious mind with positive Christ-like habits and get rid of the egotistical ones.
Jesus, in the New Testament, applied these principles when He was walking with His disciples and one of His disciples started to complain. Jesus whirled around and exclaimed, "Get thee behind me, Satan!!!" He was saying no to the ego, which the fundamentalist church refers to as the Satan or the devil.
I cannot emphasize enough the importance of being vigilant. When people in the outside world are negative the idea is to keep your golden bubble up and let their energy slide off you like water off a duck's back, or let it bounce off like a rubber pillow.
Are You a Master or a Victim?
The spirit guides you to be a master - the ego guides you to be a victim. When you are in your master consciousness you fully recognize that you cause and create your own reality. You create everything. You create your thoughts, feelings, emotions, behavior, physical health, what you attract and magnetize into your life. This is based on the Hermetic law, "As within, so without, As above, so below."
That which you think and image within your conscious and subconscious mind will manifest its mirror likeness in your external circumstances. The outer world is a mirror of your inner world. Remember that we are co-creators with God, made in His image. God is not a victim and neither are we.
The microcosm is like the macrocosm. As you learn to get into control of your mind, you then learn to get in control of your feelings and emotions. Feelings and emotions do not just happen to us, they are created by how you think.
There are certain beliefs that cause certain feelings and emotions. When you learn to think with your Christ mind all of your negative feelings and emotions begin to disappear. There is a way of thinking that will bring you inner peace, unconditional love, joy, and happiness all the time.
Nothing outside of yourself causes you to think or feel anything. It is your interpretation, your belief, your perception of the situation that causes you to feel the way you do. For example, in the 1929 stock market crash, one person jumps out the window of a building and commits suicide. Another person loses a million dollars and says, "easy come, easy go".
Two people come to work and the elevator is broken and they have to walk up ten flights of stairs. One person curses and swears and the other says, "Oh great, an opportunity to get some physical exercise."
When you walk down the street do you see other people as just meaningless other physical bodies, or as brothers and sisters in a much larger spiritual family. As I said previously, you see with your mind, not just your physical eyes.
Your behavior is also caused by your thoughts and feelings. You never do anything that does not have an antecedent as some thought or feeling in either your conscious and subconscious mind. The idea is to completely clean out the subconscious mind of all negative programming. Later in this book I will dedicate an entire chapter to tools and methods for achieving this.
As you achieve this mastery over what Djwhal Khul has called your three lower vehicles (mental, emotional, and physical bodies) and control over your negative ego, you become in tune with the soul and eventually merged with the soul and the third initiation.
This brings you a Midas touch where everything you do turns to gold, because you are in harmony with God's laws. As you continue to evolve your attunement moves from the soul to be guided by the spirit of monad. You become fully merged with the monad at the fifth initiation and ascend at the sixth initiation.
As this mastery is achieved you can program the subconscious mind to attract to you anything you need. The subconscious mind works on the law of attraction, magnetism and repulsion. The idea is to consciously program the subconscious with only positive, Christ-like thoughts which attract to you only positive things from the outside world.
Most people don't utilize the incredible power of the subconscious mind. I will delve much deeper into this in the chapter on integrating and balancing your three minds. This reprogramming is achieved through the process of "denial and affirmation".
The idea is to deny the negative thoughts and to be constantly affirming the positive spiritual thoughts. In the chapter on how to reprogram the subconscious mind I will give you all kinds of positive affirmations and visualizations to work with to achieve whatever it is you want to create and achieve in your life.
Sickness is a Defense Against the Truth
Anything you cause is the sickness or health in your physical body. Your subconscious mind runs your physical body. This can be clearly proved in the use of hypnosis. If our true identity is the Christ, then how can we get sick. God isn't sick, then in reality we can't be sick.
We get sick because of our belief in it and our indulgence in negative egotistical thoughts. Sickness is a defense against the truth because the truth is that we are the Christ and can't be sick. If we held this thought then the subconscious mind, which does whatever we order it to do, would keep us healthy.
This applies to the aging process also. If we didn't believe we had to age we wouldn't. Ascended Masters prove this in the fact that they can live in the same physical body indefinitely. Saint Germain did it for 350 years in Europe. Thoth did it for 2000 years in Atlantis and Egypt. Physical immortality is totally achievable because, remember, we are God.
I will say it still is important to physically eat well, and exercise, and follow God's physical laws until we reach that ascended state of consciousness at the sixth initiation. Many younger souls try to defy God's physical laws at a stage in their spiritual evolution where they are not yet able to walk on water. They will get to this point, however, until they do, it is most wise to respect God's laws on the physical emotional, mental, and spiritual levels in a balanced fashion.
The spiritual path is a process. It does not happen in one instant. In one holy instant you can fully realize that you are the Christ, and you are God, however, this illumination must be demonstrated and grounded on the earthly plane and shared with others.
The spiritual path is not going straight up to God, it is rather attuning upwards, and then bringing that consciousness downwards back to earth. God's divine plan is to create heaven on earth. We are here as a bridge between spirit and matter. We are here to spiritualize the material plane.
The Holy Encounter
The holy encounter is a most exquisite idea that is presented in "The Course in Miracles". The holy encounter is the understanding that every time we meet another person in the world, it is a holy encounter. Each encounter with another person is, in reality, Christ meeting Christ, God meeting God. Every person you meet, whether you know them or not is God visiting you in physical form.
In reality this concept applies to animals, plants, and the mineral kingdoms also. Don't you see, that there is only one Being in the infinite universe and that is God. God has incarnated into infinite numbers of forms. He is incarnated as you and as me, as the animals, plants, minerals, as everything. Everything has a soul.
Sai Baba has said that the fastest way to realize God is to see Him in everything and everyone. He also says if you want to find Him, Sai Baba, then see Him in your brother and sister because He is your brother and sister.
This can be clearly demonstrated in our language. When we speak we are always saying, "I feel this way", or "I am going to the market." Have you ever thought about what the "I" is? The "I" is the Godself, or the Christ or the Buddha or the Atma, the Eternal Self. No matter what words we speak in any given sentence, the "I" is the same for everybody. The "I" underlies the mental, emotional, and physical vehicles, or bodies. God is incarnated as the "Eternal I" in everything and everyone.
When you see a person on the street as just a stranger, you are seeing him or her from your "negative ego's eyes". The truth is, whether you believe this or not, that they are the Christ. If you don't see them that way you are removing the possibility of finding God for yourself.
You are not just doing them a service by seeing them in their true form, you are doing yourself the greatest service, for the world is a mirror of your own state of consciousness. By seeing your brother as a stranger you have lost God in yourself.
The Lord Maitreya has called this having right human relations. Jesus Christ said the whole law could be summed up in the statement, "Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and soul and mind and might, and love thy neighbor as thyself." I would go so far as to say your neighbor is yourself. For God only has one son, and we are all part of that one sonship. We all share the same "I". How we see our brothers and sisters is literally how we are treating God and our self.
To see if you have got this straight in your minds, I would like you to imagine that you are walking down the street and there before you is your favorite spiritual Master. It could be Jesus Christ, Sai Baba, Djwhal Khul, the Lord Maitreya, Saint Germain, Kuthumi, El Morya, the Virgin Mary, Moses, the Buddha, Quan Yin... How would you treat them when you approach them on the street if you were walking towards Them?
Well, if you treat every person you meet in your life, be it the beggar, or street person, grocery clerk, the gas station attendant, your mother-in-law, or your husband or wife, any differently you are missing the mark and have more focusing of your consciousness to do. There is absolutely no difference between these masters and your self.
Jesus said it when he said, "Everything I can do, you can do and more." Our identity is exactly the same. The only difference is that they are doing a little better than we are at demonstrating it. Never give up, for as the great Paramahansa Yogananda said, "A saint is a sinner that never gave up." The Ascended Masters had to battle through exactly the same battles and lessons we are struggling with now. "The Course in Miracles" calls this type of perception innocent perception.
The Outcome is Inevitable
The outcome is inevitable that all of God's sons and daughters will eventually return home. Can God and the Christ lose against illusion and maya? If ever you get discouraged you should ask yourself this. Can God and the Christ lose this battle? It is impossible!
Never forget the ego doesn't really even exist. It is even ridiculous to get angry at it for, in reality, it is not even there. It is nothing more than a bad dream, which you can wake up from any time you like. "Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of God."
The outcome for all souls in this journey is inevitably a return back to the Godhead. It is just a matter of time. Even Hitler will eventually return home. He will have to balance his karma first, but he will return home also. The purpose of "The Course in Miracles" and the purpose of my book is to shorten the need for time.
We are living in a period of history where what formerly took fourteen years can be done in fourteen months. Never, in the history of this planet, has there been a greater opportunity for spiritual growth. The key is to commit yourself 100% to your spiritual path with all your personal power, and focusedness, and concentration, and you will be amazed at the transformation that will take place. Why delay for a future incarnation that which you can do now?
Sin Versus Mistakes
There are no such things as sins, only mistakes. The true definition of sin is , "missing the mark". Please understand the mistakes are positive, not negative. You don't go out of your way to make them, but when they happen you learn from them. When you make a mistake, stop and gain the golden nuggets of wisdom. Learn the lesson. Forgive yourself and go forward.
The spiritual path is like climbing a mountain. It is up four steps down three, up seven down six, up five down four. This type of progress is the way we all grow. Some religions look at sin as some stain on our character, or attribute some kind of original sin to us. This is ludicrous. We have no sin for we each are the Christ, the Eternal Self.
All mistakes are forgiven. "A Course in Miracles" states that, "Forgiveness is the key to happiness." God has already forgiven everything. It is we who need to learn to forgive ourselves and our brothers and sisters. Remember, no one has ever done anything to you, you have allowed it to be done to you, and if it happened, you attracted it or needed it for soul growth.
Unconditional Love versus Conditional Love
God would have us always practice unconditional love. The rational for this is that each person, in reality, is the Christ even if their thoughts, feelings, and behavior are not demonstrating this. Jesus said, in the New Testament, "Love your enemies". This is one of the true tests and initiations of the spiritual path. It is our lesson to be bigger than, to practice innocent perception, to practice forgiveness, for what we give is what we get back. If we want God, we must give God, otherwise we will not realize Him.
Everyone is God, however we are all not realizing God in our thoughts, feelings and actions. Earth is a school to practice realizing God in our daily life. So much of the spiritual path are the small things, like how you treat your neighbor when you walk outside to start your day. Conditional love places some condition on that person that they must meet to deserve your love. The ego tells you that you are hurting that person and helping yourself by doing this. In reality you are hurting both the other person and yourself.
One of the basic principles of "A Course in Miracles" is to give up your attack thoughts. You are either loving or attacking. There are no neutral thoughts, the course states. When you are demonstrating conditional love you are unconsciously being attacking, and the other person, on an energetic level is experiencing that attack.
It is like an negative arrow that is piercing their aura. If they are weak or a victim this can affect them quite adversely, for remember, all minds are joined. Your thoughts are not contained in your physical body like a fence. In reality it is quite the opposite. The second you think about another person whether in a positive or negative way, that thought or feeling hits their energy field.
Your conditional love has also separated yourself from God. You are not separated in reality. You are separated within your own state of consciousness. Always remember that in every situation of life there is an appropriate response and an inappropriate response, By how you respond you will realize God, or not realize God in that moment. If you make a mistake, then stop, gain the golden nugget of wisdom, learn the lesson, forgive it and "choose once again".
By staying vigilant and focused over time, you will begin to develop a habit of being unconditionally loving. In every situation of life you can ask yourself, "Do I want God or my ego in this situation?" If you sincerely ask yourself this, who could choose the ego? Practice makes perfect!!!
Top Dog / Under Dog versus Equality
The ego will tell you that you are superior to everyone else or you are inferior to everyone else, or both. This is truly a hellish state of mind to live in and it is amazing how many people are unconsciously trapped in the ego's game. Spirit tells us that we are all equals because we all are the Christ, in truth. People may be at different levels of demonstrating this truth, however the "I" in you is the same as the "I" in me.
Whenever you find yourself comparing yourself with any person, the ego has a grip on you. You never want to compare with other people. You only want to compare yourself with yourself. If you look at the progress you have made within yourself only and not against others I am sure you will feel good about yourself.
Whenever the top dog, or under dog dynamic comes up within your mind do what Fritz Pearls, who coined these terms, said to do, "Laugh it off the stage." The Course calls this owning our grandeur, but not our grandiosity.
The Meaning of the Crucifixion
In the text of "A Course in Miracles" Jesus gives a fascinating account of the true meaning of the crucifixion. What He says is that the crucifixion was nothing more than an extreme lesson of love and forgiveness. He was not dying for our sins, because we do not have any sins.
What He was demonstrating was that, in even the most extreme of lessons, where a person can imagine being whipped, beaten, tortured, crucified, and killed, one could remained loving and forgiving. For didn't He say, "Forgive them, Father, They know not what they do." He went through this most extreme lesson so no one could say that my lessons are much worse than Jesus' lessons.
He went through this most extreme challenge to prove to us that forgiveness is possible even under these most extreme circumstances. If Jesus, the Christ, could do it under these circumstances, then certainly we can forgive our mother-in-law, or boss, or parent, or friend, or business partner.
Love Finder or Fault Finder
The spirit would have us see the positive and the good, and the innocence in people. The ego as our guide and teacher has us seek and see the negative. The ego does this to put other persons down in order to make itself feel good.
The spirit's philosophy is rather a win/win philosophy, not a win/lose philosophy. Why can't we all win? Isn't this a better way to live, where we are all winners?
You will see what you look for, and you will see where you put your attention. See fault and judgment, and you are, in reality, giving that to yourself, for what you see in another is just a mirror, of your own state of mind. See God and only love and blessings and that is what you give to yourself. Whether you see it or not, that is what is there, for that is what God created.
Your faulty perception doesn't create truth, it just is the reality you will live in. See the glory of what God would have you see. If you see fault, then you are creating separation from your self, God and your brother. Spirit would guide us to remain in a state of oneness at all times, for all is God.
In the New Testament Jesus said, "Judge not that ye be not judged." "He that hath no sin, cast the first stone". "Don't try to take the speck out of your brother when you have a log in your own eye." The log that Jesus speaks of is the log of ego and the lower self.
Perception versus Knowledge
All forms of perception, according to "A Course in Miracles" is a type of dream. God would guide us, however, to live and experience the happy dream of the Christ consciousness which is a perfect mirror of that state which Jesus calls knowledge. By living the Christ dream or perception, Jesus says there is a translation into pure knowledge that will inevitably take place.
Atonement
Atonement or at-one-ment is the process of undoing the ego and returning it to the at-one-ment of spirit. The Holy Spirit, and/or soul serves as our guide along with the Ascended Masters.
Teachings and Lessons, versus Bummers and Problems
It is important to realize that everything that happens in life is a teaching, lesson, challenge, and opportunity to grow. Edgar Cayce referred to this when he said that everything that happens is a stepping stone for soul growth.
Paul Solomon has said that the proper attitude towards everything that happens in life is "Not my will, but thine. Thank you for the lesson." Everything that happens in life is a gift. It wouldn't be coming to us if we didn't have something to learn. Everything that comes to us is our own personal karma and is something that we have set in motion either in this lifetime or a past lifetime. Our lesson is to welcome it, own our personal power and deal with it appropriately.
Personal Power versus Powerlessness
A spiritual master and God realized being remains in a state of personal power all the time. Most people own their power only in an emergency, or when they have to go to work. If you don't own your power it becomes projected. You give it to other people or your subconscious mind.
In my personal opinion there are two keys to psychological health. One is to own your personal power, and the second is to have self love. If you don't own your power you can be run by almost anything in the universe. This includes disincarnate spirits, other people, weather, biorhythms, the Dark Brotherhood, your ego, thoughts, feelings, emotions, desires, impulses, your physical body, past life karma, and mass consciousness.
I hope you can see the danger of not owning your personal power. Edgar Cayce has said that your will or power is the strongest force in this universe. You have heard the saying, "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." Most people have consciousness but don't have personal power. The extended use of personal power is self discipline which a lot of people don't have, either. You will never progress on the spiritual path without personal power and self discipline.
Your power is an attitude or state of mind that you need to cultivate every morning to start your day. This enforces your ideals. Part of owning your power is being decisive in whatever you do, even if you make the wrong decision. At least then you are not stuck in indecision. The old saying goes, "piss or get off the pot, fish or cut bait."
Cayce occasionally referred to personal power as positive anger. Anger is ego, however there is enormous power in anger which should be channeled into positive anger, or positive personal power. Earth is a difficult school, and we must be very tough in life or we can easily get overwhelmed. We must be like spiritual warriors. The proper attitude to have in life is tough love.
In the Bhagavad Gita, which is the story of Krishna (the Lord Maitreya). Arjuna, Krishna's disciple, is on the battlefield about to fight the evil enemy's army, when he completely loses it psychologically and falls into his ego. Arjuna is the head of the righteous army of men, and they are all depending on him.
Krishna, Arjuna's charioteer and spiritual master, begins to lecture Arjuna on the folly of his ways in giving into his ego and losing his power and control over his energies. Krishna illuminates Arjuna into the spiritual mysteries much as I am attempting to do in this book, when he makes my favorite statement in the entire Bhagavad Gita. Krishna says, after his long speech to Arjuna; "Get up now, and give up your unmanliness. Get up and fight. This self pity and self indulgence is unbecoming of the great soul that you are."
Arjuna was awakened by Krishna's spiritual discourse and this statement and reclaimed his personal power and led his men victoriously into battle. Krishna's statement applies to each and every one of us in our daily lives.
To Have All, Give All to All
To have give all to all is a message of the Course, for what you have, in reality, is what you give. What you are holding back from your brother is what you are holding back from God and yourself. To have all you must give all, for, in reality, you are and have everything already. You have always been this and always will be this. It is only your belief in your ego as your guide and teacher that has made you believe anything different.
Only Two Emotions
The Course teaches that there are only two emotions, love and fear. All other emotions return to this basic core. Fear is of the ego, and love is of the spirit. When a person indulges in attack thoughts this causes them, by the Law of Karma, operating within their own mind, to live in fear. If you attack you will be fearful because you will expect other people to attack you, which will cause you to be afraid. If you live in love, then by the Law of Karma you will expect love in return.
The Course teaches that an attack is a call for love. We need to see beyond, or through the attack to the fact that the person who is attacking is really living in fear. Fear is an indicator of lack of love, lack of self love, lack of allowing oneself to experience God's love. Doesn't the Bible say, that "Perfect love casteth out fear."
The Past and Future versus the Eternal Now
One of the profound realizations I had in studying "A Course in Miracles" was understanding about what the past and future really are. If you think about the past, what is it? It is a memory. What is a memory? A memory is an image in your mind. What is an image? An image is a thought. So what this means is that the past is totally under our control for it is nothing more than images or thoughts in our mind and our thoughts and images are totally under our control
The same applies for the future. The future is nothing more than thoughts and images in our mind that are of a positive or negative nature. This determines whether we are worried or excited about it. This means that our future is totally under our control.
All that really exists is the now. We no longer have to be victimized by our past or by a worrisome future because it is all within our own mind. The proper attitude towards the past is to gain the golden nuggets of wisdom from the mistakes and from what we have done well, and then bring forth the positive memories we choose to keep and get rid of the rest.
In terms of the future, the proper perspective is to plan for the future in a creative way that serves us and then leave the rest to God. Edgar Cayce said, "Why worry when we can pray." I would add to this and say, "Why worry when we can pray, own our personal power, and do affirmations and visualizations to attract and magnetize everything we need."
In this holy instant, I am the Christ, you are the Christ. We are one with each other and we are one with God. The fall never really happened, we just thought it did. We have and are everything, for we are God. The prodigal son and daughter has returned home, for God never took anything away. We are and always have been as God created us, perfect Christs. He has just been waiting for us to reclaim our inheritance, which has always been our own.
The Two Most Important relationships
The two most important relationships in your life are the relationship to Self and your relationship to God. In actuality, your relationship to self is even more important than your relationship to God. If you are wrong with yourself and allow yourself to be run by your ego, then you will project this wrong relationship to self onto everything in your life including your relationship to God.
This is the cause of the angry Old Testament God in the Jewish religion. It is also the cause of concepts like original sin, the idea that we are lowly sinful worms, and the judgmentalness and self righteousness of the fundamentalist religions.
This has also occurred in the Islamic religions to a certain extent. This is what happens when the ego is allowed to interpret the scripture. It is the game of telephone over 2000 years. The Masters like Jesus, Mohammed, and Moses said one thing and the disciples who were not at their level, over 2000 years made what they actually said completely distorted. There is no judgment in this, it is just a simple statement of fact.
Attachment Versus Preference
The ego has us become attached to everything. As Buddha said, "All suffering comes from our attachments." This is quite a profound statement by Buddha, for what He is saying is that if we give up all our attachments we no longer have to experience suffering at all. Again it isn't the outside thing that causes the suffering. It is our attachment and addiction to outside things that causes our suffering.
The spirit guides us to have preferences rather than attachments. An attachment is an attitude that causes us to get depressed or angry or upset if it doesn't come about. A preference is an attitude in which you are happy either way. You prefer to go to the movies but if it doesn't work out you will be happy either way.
This is a profound concept I am sharing with you. If you would up level all your attachments you would find instantaneous peace of mind. Some spiritual people believe that they are not allowed to have preferences and I would say that this is a faulty belief on their part.
It is very important in life that we have our preferences and that we go after our preferences with all our heart and soul and mind and might. However, if they don't come about it is important to set it up in advance in your mind that you will be happy either way. By doing this, happiness becomes a state of mind rather than a condition outside of self.
The happiness that so many are seeking lies in a certain perspective towards life. We are born with it but the negative ego programming blocks the awareness of our natural state which is joy.
The Transcendence of Duality
One of the basic teachings of all Eastern religions is the transcendence of duality. Duality could be another word for describing ego. The ideal is to learn to be even minded and in a state of equanimity all the time. This is achieved regardless of the ups and downs of life.
The ideal is to maintain this even-mindedness even when you have; profit or loss, pleasure or pain, sickness or health, victory or defeat, praise or criticism, good weather or bad weather. Again, it is OK to have your preference, but if it doesn't happen your baseline is joy and inner peace.
The Job Initiation
The Job initiation is a test every one goes through at some point in their spiritual journey. It is really the ultimate test of your spiritual faith and righteousness in God. The story of Job tells how Job was a righteous man of God who had a family and children, a big ranch, and material wealth.
One day Satan came to God and said, "Sure, Job is a righteous Man. You have given him everything. Take away his wealth and let's see if he remains so righteous." God said, "I have confidence in Job. Take away his wealth." Satan did so and to Satan's consternation, Job remained righteous.
Then Satan sheepishly came back to God and said, "I am impressed! However, let's take away his wife and children and see if he remains so righteous." God said, "So be it." Job's wife left him and took the kids and got a divorce. Amazingly enough Job remained righteous. Satan was really shocked now and returned to God and said let me try one more test and trial and if he passes this I give up and I will declare you were right all along.
Satan said, "For this final test let me take away his physical health." God said, "OK, you can take away his physical health, but you can't kill him." Satan agreed and Job's health was taken away. He had terrible boils and was tired. He didn't feel well at all. This was the straw that broke the camel's back for Job and he completely lost his righteousness.
He became angry and bitter and depressed. His friends tried to cheer him up but he would have nothing of it. Job's attitude was that he was a righteous man of God and a good person, and look at the trials and tribulations he was going through. This state of affairs lasted for a number of years when finally one day, in a quiet moment a whirl wind of light came to Job and entered his crown chakra and God spoke to Job.
God shared with Job that this had all been a test of character, virtue and righteousness in God. He explained that anyone can believe and worship God when things are going well, but how about when things are not going well and all outer supports have been stripped away.
Job heard the truth of what God was saying, just as Arjuna had been awakened by Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. Job said one of the most moving statements in the entire bible then:
"Naked I came from my Mother's womb,
Naked shall I leave,
The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away,
Blessed be the name of the Lord!"
Job had regained his righteousness. His health returned. His wife and children returned. His wealth returned by one hundred fold. Job went on to say, "Even if I should die, I will remain righteous in the Lord."
I think the meaning of this story is quite obvious . I would venture to guess that a good many people reading this book have gone through some form of the Job initiation. never forget that what happens to you in life is a spiritual test of your character and righteousness in the Lord.
Look at what Jesus went through. No matter what your challenge is, I challenge you to keep your faith and righteousness, be it health challenges, or money challenges, or a death, or a relationship ending, or mental or emotional challenges. Hold on to your personal power and your ideals and your faith, for did not Jesus say, "Be ye faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life."
Optimism versus Pessimism
The spiritual attitude of life is to remain optimistic at all times. You can take a person with a good attitude and put them in the worst situation and they may be bummed out for a little while, but they are going to get happy again. On the other side of the coin you can take a person with a bad attitude and put them in the best outer situation a person can have and they will be happy for a little while, but they will get bummed out again.
Part of the purpose of life is to spread joy and happiness. Sickness can be contagious if people are victims and have low resistance. Since so many people live in a victim consciousness, why not victimize them into joy and happiness. The purpose of life is to spread this joy, happiness, love, goodwill, and blessings everywhere you go so that when you leave this place the world will be a better place for your having been here.
The Ego's Purpose versus the Spirit's Purpose
The ego's purpose of life is basically hedonism, pleasure seeking, gratification of carnal desires, power in a top dog sense, material wealth, control over others rather than control over self. The spirit's answer to this is the Biblical statement, "So what that you gain the whole world but lose your own soul."
The spiritual purpose of life is to achieve liberation from the wheel of rebirth, and to realize God, to become an Ascended Master, to be of service to mankind. Did not Jesus say, "The greatest among you is the servant of all." The spiritual purpose in life is also to be happy and to enjoy oneself, in a balanced relationship to spiritual growth.
"The Course in Miracles" states that true pleasure is serving God. I know that this is true for myself. As long as I am serving God I am happy. To me everything is serving God, as long as I do whatever I do with that intent.
Poverty Consciousness versus Prosperity Consciousness
The ego's interpretation of life is that of lack, and that there is never enough. The ego teaches that money is the root of all evil, or it does a reverse and says it is the answer to all problems. The ego is quite hateful by nature, and sends a message of total lack of self worth, guilt, and undeservingness of prosperity and money. The spirit sees the universe as abundant with plenty for everybody, and no need for negative competition.
The spirit's attitude is that a person can be the richest person in the world and most spiritual simultaneously. Money, in and of itself, is divine. It is how one uses it that determines whether it is good or bad. The spirit guides people to love money and to make as much as possible so that it can be used to make physical changes in the earthly world for a spiritual purpose.
The more money you have the more you can give to charities, or start more spiritual centers and institutions. A person who has prosperity consciousness knows they can make money or get a job, or manifest a business and opportunities whenever and wherever it is needed. There are many people in this world who are millionaires but have a total poverty consciousness, and will probably eventually lose the prosperity they have because of it.
Who is more prosperous, a woman living in the ghetto with seven children, who has total faith in God to provide her with everything she truly needs, or a multimillionaire who is stingy, and worries about money constantly, who back stabs clients and competitors constantly? Millionaires who have prosperity consciousness talk about losing all their wealth, but not worrying because they knew that they could earn it all back again.
You are prosperous when you truly know that God, your personal power, and the power of your subconscious mind are your true stocks and bonds and financial security. Who cannot find a job or make money even during a recession when God, the creator of the infinite universe, is helping you, and when you, with your full personal power and power of your subconscious mind, are helping yourself.
Can God and the Christ, who you are, not win every battle? As the Bible says, "If God be for you, who or what can be against you?" "I can do all things with God and Christ who strengthen me." With this power and faith you can manifest whatever it is you need. You are prosperous because your power is in God and in the application of God's laws for your benefit.
Death versus Eternal Life
The ego believes in death because the ego believes you are your physical body rather than the soul inhabiting the physical body. The ego is right about one thing, and that is that the physical body will die. The only problem is you are not that physical body, you are the Christ and the Eternal Self living in the physical body.
The physical body is your temple and instrument for you to communicate on this earthly plane. When you are done with it, you will immediately translate into another dimension of reality. What dimension you translate to will be determined by how much soul growth you achieve in this lifetime. Death is an illusion , as everything the ego says, is an illusion.
Anger and Depression versus Peace of Mind
The feeling of anger stems from the ego's interpretation of life and is usually caused by one of four attitudes in my experience. The first faulty attitude that causes anger and depression is attachment and addiction. When your attachment isn't met this causes upset and anger.
Secondly, anger and depression is caused by not looking at what is happening to you as a lesson, teaching, gift, and as a spiritual test. Look at the areas in which you are feeling anger and I think you will find this to be true. Thirdly, I find that people get angry and depressed when they don't have their bubble of protection up and hence allow themselves to get victimized by another person's negative energy.
The fourth cause of anger and depression is a definition of anger I learned from Paul Solomon who defined anger as a loss of control and attempt to retain it. Whenever you lose your personal power, mastery, and control over yourself and fall into what I call an underdog or victimized state of consciousness which has been caused by listening to the voice of your ego, then your ego will flip from the underdog back into the top dog (or anger) to get back in control anger is really a loss of control that feels like one is getting back in control.
As I have already mentioned there is a lot of power in anger and ideally this angry energy instead of being blocked should be channeled into personal power and beneficial actions and activities. When this is done properly, this is called positive anger.
Depression is the state of consciousness of just giving up. Whenever you give up in life you will get depressed. Of all the negative attitudes of the ego, giving up is probably the worst and most dangerous. If you give into this evil game of the ego, all defenses of the conscious mind against the ego are laid down and the ego is able to gain total control.
The most important thing in life is to never give up. As the "I Ching" constantly says, "Perseverance furthers success". You must have spiritual tenacity and what Cayce called long-suffering, if need be.
There is no need to suffer in life, however, if you are suffering keep praying, and affirming and visualizing what you want. Keep powering it out and seeking an answer. For doesn't the Bible say, "Seek and ye shall find. Knock and the door shall be opened." God helps those who help themselves. God will do His part, however, we must do our part. Together God, our personal power, and the power of the subconscious mind are an unbeatable team.
Gratitude versus Taking Life for Granted
The ego's attitude is one of taking people and life for granted. The spiritual attitude is one of constant gratefulness and thanksgiving. The spiritual attitude is one of humbleness and humility. It can be summed up in the Biblical statement, "But by the grace of God go I."
The Bible also says, "After pride cometh the fall." We each have so much to be grateful for everyday. All we have to do is watch the world news and see all the terrible things that are going on around the world and see how incredibly blessed we are to be living in the United States, with a healthy physical body, with family and friends.
For those of you that have handicaps and limitations for the moment, the spiritual attitude is to focus on what you can do instead of what you can't do. I have always been moved by Saint Francis who was the Ascended Master Kuthumi in a past life. He apparently had terrible physical health problems he had to overcome and live with his whole life, and yet he became one of the most revered Christian saints.
Mother Teresa has terrible heart problems and yet she spends her life serving and helping others. Every person on the planet has a weak spot of some kind. For some it is physical, some emotional, some mental and some spiritual, some environmental or financial. We are here to valiantly try to overcome these dragons and be grateful for the grace God has bestowed upon us. For remember, even the bad things that happen are really gifts and spiritual tests, blessings in disguise.
God never gives us more than we can handle. Change your attitude and welcome your lessons and challenges with a smile and with strength. When a challenge comes, make yourself bigger than it instead of allowing yourself to grow smaller. Thank God for it and pray for His help in overcoming it.
Rejection versus Not Meant To Be
The ego will have you interpret the end of a friendship or relationship as one person winning and one person losing, hence a rejecter and a rejected. This is not the spiritual interpretation. As mentioned previously there are no winners and losers, only winners. If a relationship ends the spiritual attitude is just that it is not meant to be any longer and you both leave winners. I'm OK and you're OK, hopefully in forgiveness and unconditional love.
Guilt versus Innocence
The ego tries to make you feel guilty for your mistakes or sins as it tries to call them. The spiritual attitude is that you are instantly forgiven. There is no need to hold the past against yourself in punishment. There is no need to punish yourself. It is not necessary.
The idea is to just recognize you made a mistake and learn from it. The spiritual attitude states that you are always innocent. The Course suggests that when you make a mistake of some consequence, pray to the Holy Spirit and/or your soul or God to undo the consequences and results of that mistake. The Holy Spirit will be happy to do this for you, and then you don't have to worry about it.
Personal Surrender versus
Personal Power and Surrender Simultaneously
The ego's attitude is to either own the power and control and never surrender to God, or it totally surrenders to God and has the person not take responsibility and own their power. The spiritual attitude is to own one's power and to surrender simultaneously. It is imperative to own your power otherwise you are going to be overwhelmed by the subconscious mind. It is also essential to surrender to God and the soul, or Monad as our teacher.
In doing these both simultaneously, the three minds begin to function as one mind in perfect integration balance and harmony. This will be explained in greater detail in the chapter on the three minds and balancing the four bodies.
Ego Sensitivity versus A Centered Spiritual Attitude
Ego sensitivity is that tendency within an individual that tends to get hurt, rejected, put down, or feel inferior, at times when there is no discernible reason for this to be happening. This occurs because of a person's lack of personal power, self love, lack of bubble of protection, lack of one's right relationship to self and right relationship to God.
When a person is run by their ego, there is that tendency to project those motives onto others that are not, in reality, even there. A good example of this is the life of Jesus Christ. All He did is love and heal people, yet so many wanted to crucify and kill Him. Their egos interpreted Jesus attacking them when, in reality, this was not the case. He was the embodiment of love.
Because they interpreted attack, their victim consciousness caused them to feel put down or defensive and they attacked back. We all know people like this who get defensive or hurt or feel put down even when we didn't even do anything. A person like this needs to be treated with extra love and tact until their self concept can be rebuilt to become more sturdy.
It is important to realize that when you are centered you can't be hurt because you let the other person's attack slide off your bubble. You respond instead of reacting. You are more detached. You don't let other people cause your emotions, just as you wouldn't drink poison if someone hadn't given it to you, physically. The same is true psychologically. You don't' take the mental or emotional poison into your system.
You still may communicate your feelings to the other person, however you do it as an observation and a preference rather than being victimized by their statement and hence, lashing back in attack and anger. You don't want to let other people be the computer programmer of your emotions. You want to be the computer programmer of your own emotions.
No one can make you think, feel or behave in any way you don't choose to. You are not an effect, you are a cause. You are not a victim, you are a master and a co-creator with God. You can just choose to feel good and since our thoughts create our feelings and emotions, you immediately feel good.
Since it is your thoughts that create your reality, why would you want to create anything but joy, happiness, unconditional love, and inner peace. When you think with your Christ mind as opposed to your ego mind this is exactly what happens.
Security versus Insecurity
The ego creates insecurity because it teaches you to find your security outside of self in people, possessions, houses, money, family and so on. The only true security that cannot be taken away from you is security that is grounded in your personal power, God, the power of your subconscious mind and God's laws.
Loneliness versus Being Alone
The ego causes you to feel loneliness because it has you seek your wholeness in another person instead of finding your wholeness first within yourself and in your relationship to God. We are never really lonely when we are in our spiritual attitude because we are whole within self and one with God.
We also are in our proper relationship to our inner child. The inner child is given the proper ratio of firmness and love. The inner child, hence, feels loved and protected. Loneliness is a sign you have fallen into the under dog, or inferior state of consciousness and are seeking to fill this space with another person instead of with self and God which is what is really needed.
The same thing is true of the feeling of abandonment. If you are whole within self and one with God, and your inner child is taken care of before bonding with another person., then the feeling of abandonment isn't there when they leave.
Jealousy occurs when we bond out of this lack of wholeness and right relationship to self and God, and then compete for a known or unknown competitor. The spiritual attitude is to put out your preference in your relationship and surrender it to God. If it is meant to be it will happen, if not, it is not meant to be.
Another fact is that when you bond with another person from the state of consciousness of being right with self and right with God first, issues of cheating and infidelity and commitment can not arise in the same way because of the integrity of the individuals involved. If they do, it probably means you are with the wrong individual if they don't experience the sanctity of the bond you have.
"A Course in Miracles" Books
"A Course in Miracles" books are made up of a lesson book, a teacher's manual, and a textbook. The lessons book has one lesson a day every day for an entire year. The idea is to never do more than one lesson a day. It is kind of like the daily word, from the Unity Church, however, more specific and systematic in its purpose.
You can go slower but never faster with these lessons. The beginning lessons are designed to break down the old negative ego belief system, and the later lessons are designed to build in the Christ pattern of consciousness. I would recommend starting the lessons and reading the teacher's manual.
The teacher's manual is very easy to read. The textbook is very difficult to read and it is important not to get bogged down reading it. Most people, I find, don't have the patience or fortitude to get through it. It is well worth reading, however, if you do get bogged down then just focus on the lessons and they will give you an experience of the material.
This book is actually giving you a very good theoretical base anyway. Reading this book first will actually make "A Course in Miracles" a lot easier to understand.
Other Suggestions
If you would like to learn more about egotistical versus spiritual thinking, I have a couple of other suggestions. The first suggestion I would make is to read Jerry Jampolsky's books. He has written some easy to understand books about the teachings of "The Course in Miracles". The three that I remember most clearly are:
"Love is Letting Go of Fear"
"Teach Only Love"
"Say Good-bye to Guilt"
Lastly, Marianne Williamson has two books out and many very good tapes about "A Course in Miracles" which I would recommend.
I do not consider myself an orthodox "Course in Miracles" person because I am involved with so many things, and I also attempt to bring it into a little more of a psychological context than a spiritual or religious one. There are many, many people who are now involved with "A Course in Miracles" and each teacher organizes and presents the material in a different way.
I personally, try to integrate "A Course in Miracles" rather than totally identify with it in some areas. "A Course in Miracles" is kind of like the light at the end of the tunnel. The only problem is that 98 percent of the planet are not at the end of the tunnel yet in their evolution, so I personally feel there is a little bridging help that is needed and that is what I have attempted to do in this chapter.
Following is an in-depth list of all the spiritual attitudes and qualities, counterpoised to all the negative egotistical attitudes and qualities. This list also can be referred back to when a lesson has arisen and the ego has been triggered.
| Ego Attitude |
|
Spiritual Attitude |
| Attack...Fear |
|
Love! |
| Selfish |
|
Selfish-Selfless Balance |
| Holds Grudge |
|
Forgiveness |
| Top Dog / Under Dog |
|
Equality |
| Competition |
|
Cooperation |
| Judgment |
|
Spiritual Discernment |
| Guilt |
|
Innocence |
| Self-Righteousness |
|
Personal Opinion |
Fights Universe
bummers amd problems |
|
Teaching / Lessons / Challenges |
| Pessimistic |
|
Opportujity to Grow / Optimistic |
| Insecurity - Self Doubt |
|
Self-Confidence |
| Powerless - Out of Control |
|
Personal Power - Self Mastery |
| Anger and Depression |
|
Lessons - Emotional Invulnerability |
| Attack - Defensive or Hurt |
|
Love |
| Neediness, Dependency |
|
Preference - Want |
| Wictim - Effect |
|
Master - Cause - Chooser - creator |
| Self Pity |
|
Takes Responsibility |
| War |
|
School |
| Learsn karmically;of hard knowcks |
|
Crows by state of Grace; the easy way! |
| Subconsciously run |
|
Consciously Run |
| Impatient |
|
Patience |
| Suffering |
|
Joyous and Happy |
| Reacts |
|
Responds |
| Vulnerable |
|
Invulnerable Emotionally |
| Sin |
|
Mistakes |
| Attachment |
|
Involved Detachment |
| Laziness /Procrastination |
|
Discipline |
| Jealous |
|
Whole and Complete - Non attached |
| Law of the Jungle |
|
What you sow, You Reap |
| Demands |
|
Asks |
| Moody /Bad Moods |
|
Good Mood all the Time |
| Self-Punishment |
|
Self-Love and Forgiveness |
| Mistakes / Negative |
|
Mistakes / Positive |
| Lamp Shade Over Light |
|
Light! |
| Ego sensitivity |
|
Unchanging Self Worth |
| Must Porve self to Obtain Worth |
|
Worth / Spiritual Inheritance |
| Mud on Diamond |
|
Diamond |
| Giving is Losing |
|
Giving is Winning |
| Stealing is gaining |
|
Stealing is Losing |
| Rejection |
|
Remaining Centered / Whole
(is not meant to be!) |
| Self-Centered |
|
One Team |
| Intimidation |
|
Uses Power Appropriately |
| Automatic Pilot |
|
Consciously Creating Life |
| Over-indulgent and under indulgent |
|
Balance, Integration, Moderation |
| Run by Past thoughts and future fears |
|
Now/Present Centered |
| Lonely |
|
Finds wholeness in self |
| Stranger |
|
Brothers and Sisters |
| Embarrassment |
|
No Judgment |
| Selfless (martyr) |
|
Selfish/Selfless Balance |
| Gossip |
|
Remain Quiet if you have a Judgment |
| Seeks Approval or Control |
|
States Preference and Accepts |
| What Other People Think |
|
Inner Directed, Non Conformist |
| Worry / Anxiety |
|
Faith, Trust in Self, Higher Power and Laws of Universe |
| Indecisive |
|
Decisive |
| Envy |
|
Happiness and Joy in Another's Abundance |
| Attached to Other People's Lessons |
|
Responsible only for your own lessons |
| Comparisons |
|
Not Insecure, Inner Directed |
| Undeserving |
|
Deserving |
| Sickness |
|
Perfect Health |
| Sexuality (with no feeling or emotion of love) |
|
Sexuality (love, caring, intimacy and pleasure) |
| Poverty Consciousness |
|
Prosperity Consciousness |
| Arrogant and Prideful |
|
Humility, Humble and Grateful |
| Sullen, Serious, Over-involved |
|
Humor, Objectivity, Perspective |
| Fault Finder |
|
Builder and Lifter of Others |
| Rebellious or Conformist |
|
Inner Directed |
| Curses |
|
Blesses |
| Scattered |
|
Focused, Purposeful |
| Fear of Failure or Success |
|
Successful |
| Aggressive |
|
Assertive |
| Harsh |
|
Gentle |
| Emotional Roller Coaster |
|
Emotional Stability |
| Disorganized |
|
Organized |
| Bored |
|
Not Enough Time in the Day |
| Abandonment |
|
Whole, Complete Within Self |
| Sadness and Grief |
|
Involved Detachment (not meant to be) |
| Disappointment |
|
Involved Detachment |
| Rationales and Excuses |
|
Self Honest-Tough Love |
| Immature Honesty |
|
Spiritual Honesty |
| Folds up Under Tension / Lesson |
|
Carries Tension or Lesson |
| Needs Center Stage or Hides in Fear |
|
Center Stage, Neutral, Back Stage at Appropriate Time |
| Conditional Love |
|
Unconditional Love |
| Inappropriate Response |
|
Appropriate Response |
| Rejecting |
|
Accepting |
| Lessons as Punishment |
|
Lessons As Gifts |
| War Zone, Dog Eat Dog World |
|
School for Spiritual Evolution |
| Total Power, No Surrender, or Total Surrender, No Power |
|
Power Plus Surrender |
| Limited |
|
Unlimited or Limitless |
| Intolerant |
|
Tolerant |
| Conflict |
|
Peace |
| Illusions |
|
Truth |
| Hypocritical |
|
Honest, Consistent |
| Despair |
|
Hope |
| Closed-Minded |
|
Open Minded |
| Distrustful |
|
Trust and Faith in Self and Others |
| Defensive |
|
Defenseless, Nothing to Defend |
Copyright © 2004 Dr Joshua David Stone. All Rights Reserved.
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