ACFIP
Newsletter
Issue 17 - June 2008
Quarterly Newsletter of the Australian Centre for Inner Peace
Michael Dawson
PO Box 125, Point Lookout
North Stradbroke Island,
Queensland 4183,
Australia
Email: mdawson@acfip.org
Web site: http://www.acfip.org
___________________________________________________________________________
Welcome
to the seventeenth issue of the Australian Centre for Inner Peace
Newsletter.
CONTENTS:
* Investigating the Self
* Collapsing Time
* Poem - I Saw That He
Was Like Me
* Workshops
* Books and Audio
Materials for Sale
* New CD - 3 Exercises
with German translation
* Links
* Inspirational
Quotations
If you wish to read previous
issues please go to http://www.acfip.org/newsletterarchive.html.
If your email address ends
with .au I put your address on my Australian list for advance notice of
workshops I am giving in Australia. If you do not want to be on this
list please let me know. If you reside in Australia and want to be on
this list, but you address does not end in .au, please email me and I
will include it.
If you are new to the Course
you might find my summaries of help.
You can find them at
http://www.acfip.org/sum.html and http://www.acfip.org/art4.html
Regards
Michael Dawson
http://www.acfip.org
___________________________________________________________________________
INVESTIGATING THE SELF
Nothing real can be
threatened.
Nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the peace of God
intro,Text - A Course in
Miracles
A Course in Miracles
asks us to challenge our conventional wisdom about who we think we are
and what the world really is. Until we do this we are walking around
asleep and suffering will be our constant companion. The above quote
states that, "Nothing unreal exists", which means if something is not
eternal (i.e. never born) its nature is that of a dream. In the
Workbook Jesus states, "There is no world. This is the central thought
the course attempts to teach." W-p1.132.6:2-3
If it is the 'central
thought', then we need to pay close attention to it.
So what does exist? A man
walking at dusk mistakes a coiled rope for a poisonous snake and is
terrified. He sees what appears to be a real problem that needs an
urgent solution and he will not hear otherwise. It might take
considerable persuasion from someone who knows the truth that there is
nothing to fear in this situation. The 'snake' is a projection of the
man's mind and has no inherent existence. Some Buddhist schools would
say it is empty and "does not exist from its own side", and that
everything we perceive or think is likewise empty or void, without any
inherent reality or existence.
I believe the Course agrees
with this, referring to the ego as a dream that will disappear back
into nothingness when we so choose just as darkness vanishes (not
hides) when the light appears. Whilst we identify with the ego we make
it real and therefore we insist we exist as an individual. To maintain
the illusion of individuality we need to defend against the truth by
concentrating on the unreal - a world empty of any inherent existence.
So who am I? This trunk with
four limbs and a head? Do I feel diminished if I trim my nails and have
a hair cut? Or lose a limb? No - the 'I' thought remains. What of our
thoughts and the emotions they generate? We can watch them come and go,
we can stand back and observe them or their absence so we can't be
them. Are we a collection of our body parts, thoughts and emotions?
Again no, for if we can't be found in the parts we cannot exist in the
collection.
The thoughts of which I am
aware do not mean anything because I am trying to think without God.
What I call "my" thoughts are not my real thoughts. My real thoughts
are the thoughts I think with God. I am not aware of them because I
have made my thoughts to take their place. Lesson 51
The concept of an individual
self is made up by the mind - it is just another thought taken as
important. Our body, mind and feelings are just like the coiled rope
and have no inherent existence. We have simply given a meaning to them
or labelled them as 'me'. The early Workbook lessons emphasise this
point. Lesson 1 states: "Nothing in this room means anything". In the
review of Lesson 1 (see Lesson 51) it says, "The reason this is so is
that I see nothing, and nothing has no meaning. It is necessary that I
recognise this, that I may learn to see". In Lesson 7 Jesus uses the
example of a cup saying, "What do you know about this cup except what
you learned in the past? You would have no idea what this cup is,
except for your past learning. Do you, then, really see it? Look about
you. This is equally true of whatever you look at." This is another way
of saying we label everything we perceive and give it meaning it does
not possess of and in itself.
What God did not create does
not exist. And everything that does exist exists as He created it. The
world you see has nothing to do with reality. It is of your own making,
and it does not exist. Lesson 14
When the first letter of the
alphabet was written on the board, in our first reading class as
children, we did not see an 'A'. Perhaps we saw a tent or a mountain.
We had to be taught to label it an 'A' and that is how we now see it.
But it is not an 'A' in and of it itself but a series of strokes. Even
the word 'stroke' is a label.
Imagine for a moment that
through self-forgiveness we let go of our personal identity as a man,
woman, parent, child, worker, etc. Who is left to want gain, praise and
a good reputation? Who is left who wants to avoid loss, blame and a bad
reputation? Then we will know the peace of God and finally remember who
we are - not an individual but Christ - the one eternal, formless
spirit that God created in His Mind.
___________________________________________________________________________
COLLAPSING TIME
Such is each life; a seeming
interval from birth to death and on to life again, a repetition of an
instant gone by long ago that cannot be relived. And all of time is but
the mad belief that what is over is still here and now. T-26.V.13:2-4
To achieve the goal of the
Course we need to practise forgiveness. To understand the Course we
need a knowledge of its metaphysics which includes time. Forgiveness
collapses time, speeding the moment of spiritual awakening when we
finally accept the Atonement - the awakening from the illusion of time
and space.
Jesus states we need new
ideas about time but also says how difficult it is for us to understand
these ideas. Linear time is what we take as the truth, whilst Jesus
tells us that time is holographic - everything is happening in one
moment. However, we can at least understand time's purpose and allow
our deeply rooted ideas of time and space to be shaken a little. As we
proceed along the Course's path of awakening we will encounter
experiences that will seem shocking and fear-provoking to our egos. It
will be helpful therefore to meet these times with some foreknowledge
so that awe and not fear is experienced. (T-1.VII.5).
The ego uses time to preserve
itself. It tells us that in the past we decided to separate from God
and achieved this. To save us from the resulting overwhelming guilt it
advised us to deny this ever happened. This imagined sin in the past is
experienced in the present as guilt leading to a fear of punishment in
the future. All our fear stems from this unconscious guilt from a
separation that never really happened.
In contrast the Holy Spirit
reminds us that the "tiny mad idea" (see below) of separation was
undone by the Holy Spirit the moment it was thought.
God gave His Teacher to
replace the one you made, not to conflict with it. And what He would
replace has been replaced. Time lasted but an instant in your mind,
with no effect upon eternity. And so is all time past, and everything
exactly as it was before the way to nothingness was made. The tiny tick
of time in which the first mistake was made, and all of them within
that one mistake, held also the Correction for that one, and all of
them that came within the first. And in that tiny instant time was
gone, for that was all it ever was. What God gave answer to is answered
and is gone. T-26.V.3:1-7
In that "tiny tick of time"
the whole universe was born, evolved and died along with all the
thoughts we experienced.
"All thinking produces form
at some level." (T-2.VI.9:14), and so all these thoughts manifested in
time and space. This is somewhat similar to parallel universes
hypothesised by some quantum physicists - that all possible results of
an experiment exist and the participating scientist chooses one of them
to manifest. Although everything was corrected in that 'original
instant' we have chosen not to accept the Holy Spirit's correction and
perversely continue as if we are still special individuals separated in
space and linear time.
The world of time is the
world of illusion. What happened long ago seems to be happening now.
Choices made long since appear to be open; yet to be made. What has
been learned and understood and long ago passed by is looked upon as a
new thought, a fresh idea, a different approach. Because your will is
free you can accept what has already happened at any time you choose,
and only then will you realize that it was always there. For we but see
the journey from the point at which it ended, looking back on it,
imagining we make it once again; reviewing mentally what has gone by.
TM-2.3:1-5
To help make this a bit
clearer I will use a couple of analogies. There are currently available
fiction novels which give the reader a choice of which plot to develop.
At the end of each chapter you choose from a choice of plots; for
example, if the hero gets married or decides to say single. You are
then directed to the appropriate page and the story continues based on
your previous choice of plot. A multiple, but not infinite, story line.
In that original instant of seeming separation we also had an enormous,
but not infinite, number of stories which we now reviewing in our time
and space theatre.
Dr Kenneth Wapnick, in his
excellent book, A Vast illusion - time according to a Course in
Miracles, uses the analogy of the VCR. The sleeping son of God or
decision-maker is sitting there watching video tapes of what occurred
in that "tiny tick of time". He has a choice between two huge and equal
piles of video tapes - the ego tapes and tapes of their correction by
the Holy Spirit. One of the correction tapes is entitled 'Atonement' in
which the sleeping son of God finally wakes up and joyfully realises he
never left his Father's home and that time and space are illusions. At
this point he stops the pointless practice of viewing videotapes of
what has already occurred.
It is important to realise
that the way of awakening, like everything else, has already happened
and can't be changed.
The time is set already. It
appears to be quite arbitrary. Yet there is no step along the road that
anyone takes but by chance. It has already been taken by him, although
he has not yet embarked on it. W-pI.158.3:1-4
But when we decide to view
that tape is not.
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. T-in.1-5
As the course emphasizes, you
are not free to choose the curriculum, or even the form in which you
will learn it. You are free, however, to decide when you want to learn
it. And as you accept it, it is already learned. M-2.3 : 6-7
That is the purpose of the
spiritual path - to speed the time of awakening. As Jesus states a few
times in the workbook, we could save thousands of years (many reviews
of ego tapes) if we did a particular lesson correctly. Thus time can be
collapsed through forgiveness. As an example, your partner may suddenly
die and leave you heartbroken. In that original instant you may have
had two thoughts - to turn to drugs to alleviate the pain or dedicate
your life to finding a peace that no death can take away - the choice
of two videos to review. If you turn to the Holy Spirit for guidance He
will urge you to review the latter and so save time.
Due to our fixation with
linear time it is hard for us to realise the all our problems are
solvable instantly. The correction video has always existed and we need
not delay in reviewing it.
I seem to have problems only
because I am misusing time. I believe that the problem comes first, and
time must elapse before it can be worked out. I do not see the problem
and the answer as simultaneous in their occurrence. That is because I
do not yet realise that God has placed the answer together with the
problem, so that they cannot be separated by time. The Holy Spirit will
teach me this, if I will let Him. And I will understand it is
impossible that I could have a problem which has not been solved
already. W-pI.90.3.
This also relates to the
teachings in the text about the Laws of Chaos were it states there is
no hierarchy of illusions, no order of difficulty in miracles. Any
problem, irrespective of its seeming magnitude, has already been
corrected and is simply waiting acceptance. Our job is to turn to the
Holy Spirit and ask His advice on what video to review thus speeding
the time to when we review the Atonement video.
To you who still believe you
live in time and know not it is gone, the Holy Spirit still guides you
through the infinitely small and senseless maze you still perceive in
time, though it has long since gone. You think you live in what is
past. Each thing you look upon you saw but for an instant, long ago,
before its unreality gave way to truth. Not one illusion still remains
unanswered in your mind. Uncertainty was brought to certainty so long
ago that it is hard indeed to hold it to your heart, as if it were
before you still. T-26.V.4
___________________________________________________________________________
I Saw That He Was Like Me
I saw that he was like me -
Passionate, sexy, creative,
Gifted, intuitive, warm,
Loving, tender, powerful....
And Male
And I loved him.
We shared passion, sex,
creativity....
Our gifts, intuition, and
warmth.
We loved tenderly, powerfully
-
Male and Female
I saw that he was like me
And we loved.
But a shadow appeared....
Secretive, irritable,
power-hungry -
Vain, egotistical, cold...
Possessive, controlling -
Using God as a cover....
Attached to things other than
me....
This wasn’t like me!
Typical Male
I began to fear him, despise
him,
Long to change him.
But the quiet Voice of God
spoke...
“He is like you.
You are to love him....
Whole, as he is
As you are....”
I refused to listen
And I watched the
shadow spread
Destroying what we called
love.
Self-righteous, I named
his faults -
The causes of my loss.
But the persistent Voice of
God
spoke again -
“He is like you....
You are to love him
As he is,
As you are....
As I love you
And suddenly my own voice
echoed me -
Secretive
as I kept a truth from view
Irritable, power-hungmy,
as I ordered my child to
chores
Vain, egotistical
Qheck the mirror for
reassurance....
Cold, possessive, controlling
as I chose someone that I
could rescue,
and direct...
Using God as a cover....
Surely not....
Am I, God? Have I?
And God’s quiet Voice came
again
“He is like you...
You are to love him
As he is,
As you are,
As I love you.”
And so I bring the shadow -
Monstrous, terrifying,
Ugly, dark
and fearful -
To the Light
And I cry.
“Here it is, God! It has been
so terrifying to look upon...
And I have hated it so long
and I weep
And God says
“He is like you
You are to love him
As he is,
As you are,
As I love you
For you are One.’
And I heard Him.
I saw that he was like me
And the shadow faded
in the Light.
by Linda Chubbuck
___________________________________________________________________________
PLEASE NOTE: The Australian
Centre for Inner Peace is not a counselling or psychotherapy centre;
therefore we do not offer telephone or email service or counselling,
therapy, or crisis intervention for personal problems related to the
Course. Please see the Contacts section at the end of this newsletter.
___________________________________________________________________________
Forthcoming Workshops on A Course in
Miracles
in
Australia and Germany
Australia 2008 Dates
Brisbane, Queensland
Sun 24 August, 2008 - 1 day
workshop
9.30am to 4.45pm
Healing Our Relationships -
the path home
A Course in Miracles workshop
When you meet anyone,
remember it is a holy encounter.
As you see him you will see
yourself.
As you treat him you will
treat yourself. As you think of him you will think of yourself.
Never forget this, for in him
you will find yourself or lose yourself.
Whenever two Sons of God
meet, they are given another chance at salvation.
Do not leave anyone without
giving salvation to him and receiving it yourself.
A Course in Miracles T-8.III.4
Relationships provide the
mirror in which we see what needs to be forgiven in ourselves. In
moving from anger and dependence to forgiveness and honesty we start
the journey of our spiritual awakening.
No previous knowledge of A
Course in Miracles is required.
VENUE:
Relaxation Centre,
15 South Pine Road
Alderley
Brisbane 4051
BOOKINGS:
Relaxation Centre
07 3856 3733
(Please do not book through
me)
TIMES: 9.30am to 4.45pm
COST: $55
Bring lunch to share
___________________________________________________________________________
Clare, South Australia
September
27/28 2008
(2hrs drive north of Adelaide)
Awakening to Our Spiritual
Reality.
A Course in Miracles workshop
You do not have to seek
reality.
It will seek you and find you
when you meet its conditions.
A Course in Miracles
T-8.IX.2:4-5
The deepest but forgotten
truth about ourselves is that we are one with the love and mind of God.
Identification with our bodies and personalities blinds us to our
spiritual reality. The Course teaches us how to awaken from this dream
of separation from God and to experience joy and peace. If our
intention to awake is sincere and we have the humility to realise we
know nothing and are willing to be taught by spirit we will meet the
conditions of awakening.
Topics will include:
What is enlightenment?
Why we fear to awaken
Traps on the spiritual path
Pointers on the path
Not knowing-the need for
humility
The need for a full heart and
an empty mind.
Sinlessness
Forgiveness
Undoing our blocks to guidance
Exercises will be used to
help remove the obstacles to peace and open to the guidance within.
No previous knowledge of A
Course in Miracles is required.
TIME:
Sat September 28 - 9.30am TO
5.30pm
Sun September 29 - 9.30am TO
4.30pm
BOOKINGS:
Tel: 08 8842 3114
PO Box 614
Clare, SA 5453
Cost
Deposit: $60 to cover basic
costs ($30 non-refundable)
plus a donation for the
workshop.
Food provided.
___________________________________________________________________________
Hillier (Gawler), SA
(40 minutes drive from the
centre of Adelaide)
October 4/5 2008
The Key to Inner Peace.
Moving from a somebody
to a nobody
A Course in Miracles workshop
You are not special.
If you think you are, and
would defend your specialness against the truth of what you really are,
how can you know the truth?
A Course in Miracles
One day, I discovered I
didn't need a personal history, so, like drinking, I dropped it.
Carlos Castaneda in
Tales of Power
As we let go our beliefs,
concepts, seeking, self importance and goals, peace and joy will return.
When we no longer defend our
self created image (ego) awareness of our eternal spiritual reality
awakens.
Exercises to help undo our
ego and listen within will be given.
No previous knowledge of A
Course in Miracles is required.
VENUE:
"Riverdell"
Clifford Road
Hillier
South Australia
(40 minutes drive from the
centre of Adelaide)
TIME:
Sat and Sun - 9.30 TO 5.00
COST:
Booking Fee - $30 (non
refundable)
Workshop Fee - By Donation at
the workshop
Some accommodation on site -
$40
Bring food to share for lunch
both days
For details Contact:
Pamela St Claire
(08) 8322 0444
email:
pstclaire@chariot.net.au
People should send their
Booking Fee to:
Pamela St Claire
36 The Causeway
O'Halloran Hill SA 5158
and include a cheque made
payable to P. St Claire
___________________________________________________________________________
Germany
2009 Dates
Bonn
June 20/21 2009
9.30am to 5.30pm
A Full Heart and an Empty Mind
- A Course in Miracles
workshop -
Empty your mind of everything
it thinks is either true or false, or good or bad, of every thought it
judges worthy, and all the ideas of which it is ashamed. Hold onto
nothing. Do not bring with you one thought the past has taught, nor one
belief you ever learned before from anything. Forget this world, forget
this course, and come with wholly empty hands unto your God.
A Course in Miracles - Lesson
189
The deepest but forgotten
truth about ourselves is that we are one with the love and mind of God.
To let this memory return to
our awareness we need to question everything we think is true, to
realise we know nothing about how to awaken to peace and joy so that we
may be guided, and learn to extend kindness and goodwill to others.
Insight of the mind must be balanced with compassion of the heart.
This workshop will explore
how we can awaken to peace and joy through the healing power of
insight, kindness, gentleness, awareness and forgiveness.
No previous knowledge of A
Course in Miracles is required.
An Evening Introductory Talk
- Fri June 19
7.30pm to 9.30pm
Contact:
Albert-Schweitzer-Haus
Beethovenallee 16
Bonn 53173
tel: 0228 - 36 47 37
http://www.albert-schweitzer-haus-bonn.de
___________________________________________________________________________
Freiburg
June 27/28 2009
10am to 6pm
A Full Heart and an Empty Mind
- A Course in Miracles
workshop -
Empty your mind of everything
it thinks is either true or false, or good or bad, of every thought it
judges worthy, and all the ideas of which it is ashamed. Hold onto
nothing. Do not bring with you one thought the past has taught, nor one
belief you ever learned before from anything. Forget this world, forget
this course, and come with wholly empty hands unto your God.
A Course in Miracles - Lesson
189
The deepest but forgotten
truth about ourselves is that we are one with the love and mind of God.
To let this memory return to
our awareness we need to question everything we think is true, to
realise we know nothing about how to awaken to peace and joy so that we
may be guided, and learn to extend kindness and goodwill to others.
Insight of the mind must be balanced with compassion of the heart.
This workshop will explore
how we can awaken to peace and joy through the healing power of
insight, kindness, gentleness, awareness and forgiveness.
No previous knowledge of A
Course in Miracles is required.
Evening Introductory Talk -
Fri June 26
8pm to 9.30pm
Location of workshop:
Center Margarete Sennekamp
Schauinslandstr. 39
79100 Freiburg-Günterstal
Tram 4, Klosterplatz
Contact:
Sophia-Institut
Margarete Sennekamp
Adalbert-Stifter-Str. 16
79102 Freiburg
Tel/Fax : 0761-73930
www.Sophia-Institut.de
Biography
Michael discovered A Course
in Miracles whilst visiting the Findhorn Foundation in 1982. He
subsequently became a member of the Foundation for about six years and
involved himself with healing and teaching. In 1994 he published
Healing the Cause - A Path of Forgiveness which serves as an
introduction to the Course. His second book, The Findhorn Book of
Forgiveness (Findhorn Press) uses exercises, stories and case histories
to guide the reader to inner peace through forgiveness. Michael now
lives in Australia and gives workshops on the Course world-wide.
_______________________________________
BOOKS AND AUDIO MATERIALS FOR
SALE - by Michael Dawson
Books:
Healing the Cause - A Path of
Forgiveness. Findhorn Press 1994
The Findhorn Book of
Forgiveness. Findhorn Press. 2003
For more details and how to
purchase please visit: http://www.acfip.org/books_tapes.html
Audio Tapes and CDs:
Since 1986 I have been
conducting healing workshops in the UK and abroad, and have continually
experimented to find healing and forgiveness exercises that are
effective. I have found that a particular exercise can be
effective for one person but not another. Accordingly, I was led to
develop a series of exercises. Over the years workshop participants
asked if these exercises could be put onto audio cassettes and CDs so
they could repeat them. This has resulted in the Healing the Cause -
Exercise series - Tapes 1 to 4 (2 exercises on each tape) and CD1 and 2
(4 exercises on each CD)
*New CD - 3 Healing Exercises
in English with German translation. Available August 2008.
Content:
Ex1. Forgiving Ourselves.
Ex2. Changing Perception and
Finding peace.
Ex3. Changing Perception of
another - exercise for two people.
These exercises are similar
to existing exercises already available on CDs but are translated into
German.
For more details and how to
purchase please visit: http://www.acfip.org/audio.html
___________________________________________________________________________
CONTACTS
Foundation for A Course In
Miracles
41397 Buecking Drive,
Temecula, CA 92590
Tel: 909 296 6261 Fax: 909296
9117
Books, videos, CDs and audio
tapes by Kenneth and Gloria Wapnick are available from their web site
http://www.facim.org
Question and Answer Service:
Their electronic outreach
section has a question and answer service http://www.facimoutreach.org/
on the theory and practice of the Course. Their database of hundreds of
questions and answers is searchable and you can ask your own questions.
Their publications can also
be ordered in Australia at:
Adyar Bookshop
230 Clarence Street
Sydney, NSW 2000
Foundation for Inner Peace -
the publishers of A Course in Miracles
http://www.acim.org/
ACIM study groups:
Go to The Miracle
Distribution Center http://www.miraclecenter.org/ for the largest and
most frequently updated list of A Course in Miracles study groups
available anywhere.
Miracles Studies
Australia http://www.miracle-studies.net.au lists study
groups for Australia and new Zealand
A Course In Miracles Pen Pals:
The Miracle Network
http://www.miracles.org.uk hosts a A Course in Miracles pen pals group:
To join this e-mail
discussion group, send your e-mail address to
e.pals@miracles.org.uk.
They will send you
updated lists of other e.pals and inform them of your e-mail
address.
A Course In Miracles Chat
Groups:
The aim of this board is to
provide a place for people to chat about ACIM.
Any related discussions are
more than welcome and I believe helpful! - moderated by Glyn Milhench
http://glynbo.proboards84.com/index.cgi?board=acim
Belief.net ACIM discussion:
This Belief.net web-based
discussion is hosted by Joe Jesseph.
http://www.beliefnet.com/boards/discussion_list.asp?boardID=34272
___________________________________________________________________________
INSPIRATIONAL QUOTATIONS
About three or four times a
week I send a short quotation from some spiritual teacher or poet to
people who have requested some uplifting thoughts. I have included some
below. If you wish I can add your name to the email list.
Do understand that you are
destined for enlightenment.
Co-operate with your destiny,
don't go against it, don't thwart it.
Allow it to fulfil itself.
All you have to do is to give
attention to the obstacles created by the foolish mind.
Nisargadatta Maharaj
---------------------------------------------------------------
When you listen to the voice in your head, that
is to say, do not judge. You'll soon realize: there
is the voice, and here I am listening to it, watching
it. This I am realization, this sense of your own
presence, is not a thought. It arises from beyond
the mind.
Eckhart Tolle
The Power of Now
---------------------------------------------------------------
In your light I learn how to love.
In your beauty, how to make poems.
You dance inside my chest,
where no one sees you,
but sometimes I do, and that
sign becomes this art.
Rumi
---------------------------------------------------------------
One is more likely to awaken
through surrender than through seeking to waken. The effort to awaken
is the effort of ego, whereas to surrender is to give up all efforts
and to place oneself in the hands of a vast force that is more powerful
than any realization of non duality.
When one finally gives up
one's futile attempts to make reality conform to one's own wishes, and
allows it to unfold on its own terms, all the energy that was tied up
in foolish attempts to manipulate the universe is freed up.
Mariana Caplan
Halfway Up the Mountain - The
Error of Premature Claims to Enlightenment
---------------------------------------------------------------
Yet searching is inevitable
here. For this you came, and you will surely do the thing you came for.
But the world can not dictate the goal for which you search, unless you
give it power to do so. Otherwise, you still are free to choose a goal
that lies beyond the world and every worldly thought, and one that
comes to you from an idea relinquished yet remembered, old yet new; an
echo of a heritage forgot, yet holding everything you really want.
A Course in Miracles Lesson
131
---------------------------------------------------------------
There's one great delusion that lies at the core
of all of our suffering: the false belief in the reality
of the separation of life and in the subsequent
true existence of an individual ego.
All fervent attempts to control or to mortify this
illusory ego through penance, rituals and sacrifice,
however, will only serve to intensify the delusion
that this ego is actually very real and that it only
needs to be, somehow, subdued, conquered or
destroyed.
Chuck Hillig
Seeds for
the Soul, Black Dot Publications, 2003