They say that in the really olden days, that is, before the fall, we were connected. Like bees in a hive everybody was doing their thing as if they constantly heard a voice in their head, do this and now do this. Love was instinctive and it was all-present, with perfect cooperation of everyone, there was abundance everywhere and the lion was lying next to the lamb, strength and innocence lived together.
Then came the 'what if', the new voice in the head. The idea that perhaps the fellow next to you could be different, could be scheming, could be taking things away. Have you ever seen a bee stealing the honey from the hive? It is a contradiction in itself when only love (or in the case of animals, only cooperative instinct) exists.
I have observed an interesting change in me in recent years. I was like everyone else in that I had my friends and my foes, my timid and bold moments, my bouts of fears and my phases of confidence. Today, I feel that I am experiencing what the Course in Miracle claims to be the case, that is, I experience that there are only two states, fear and love. I no longer have foes because I understand now when I am projecting my fears and aspirations onto others. I no longer have timid moments just because I always do what the Tao dictates me to, but I sure experience fear. What if I don't make it professionally, what if I have the same dry spell that colleagues way better than me had to endure, what if my kids have to leave their private school when I don't make it professionally? What if my writing career will never take off?I guess you got the picture.
This nagging noise may be a transitionary phase or it might be with me until my last day, but the important point it that it is no longer holding me back. I can already experience oneness here and now if only I can recognize love. But love is not an abstract concept, it is situational. If you handle one situation at the time you in your movie you cannot miss it. You will recognize her. In fact you cannot miss her smiling face when you see her. My hunch is that when you reach this stage, when you can only see fear and love your journey is pretty much over. Why would you ever listen to this nagging noise in your head in the presence of beauty. It is a no-brainer really.
Showing posts with label The Course in Miracles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Course in Miracles. Show all posts
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Thursday, April 12, 2012
If you have one friend you have no friend
Erich Fromm used to say that in his book 'The Art of Loving' and it made a big impression on me because I have always been a shy person preferring the company of few close friends rather than the company of many. It would be easy to justify the advantage of introvert behavior by saying that extroverts are superficial. I don't think that is right at all. I aim for being comfortable with pretty much everyone and I can honestly tell you that you can overcome social anxiety. It takes hard work like everything that requires you to overcome your fears, yet, this uphill task is worth every step of the way. As the Course in Miracle says, 'Let me go and get to know this brother as I know myself'- yes, that's a goal worth striving for. Who knows, perhaps Erich Fromm was right after all, if you have just one friend you may quite well have no friend.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Objectivity
Psychologist have that ideal that there is the stage of sanity, an evolution of man that allows us to understand reality as is. Erich Fromm writes in 'The Sane Society':
"Although biologically the brain capacity of the human race has remained the same for thousand of generations, it takes a long evolutionary process to arrive at objectivity, that is, to acquire the faculty to see the world, nature, other persons and oneself as they are, and not distorted by desires and fears."
The Course in Miracles reminds us that there are only two ways of looking at the world and people, you either look at them with God's vision or you look at them from the point of view of the ego. These worlds are polar opposites and there is no in-between. The former world embraces pure love and nothing but, while the latter is based on our desires and fears and will always remain distorted in one way or another.
It turns out that if you read Erich Fromm's claim carefully, you actually discover my spiritual interpretation as well: when man is able to erase desires and fears in himself, he has in fact managed to transcend the ego. Only then is he able to perceive nature and people with God's objective vision, that is, the perfect vision of love.
"Although biologically the brain capacity of the human race has remained the same for thousand of generations, it takes a long evolutionary process to arrive at objectivity, that is, to acquire the faculty to see the world, nature, other persons and oneself as they are, and not distorted by desires and fears."
The Course in Miracles reminds us that there are only two ways of looking at the world and people, you either look at them with God's vision or you look at them from the point of view of the ego. These worlds are polar opposites and there is no in-between. The former world embraces pure love and nothing but, while the latter is based on our desires and fears and will always remain distorted in one way or another.
It turns out that if you read Erich Fromm's claim carefully, you actually discover my spiritual interpretation as well: when man is able to erase desires and fears in himself, he has in fact managed to transcend the ego. Only then is he able to perceive nature and people with God's objective vision, that is, the perfect vision of love.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
The Cancerous Force
The Course in Miracles claims that there is a cancerous drive in you - the ego - that is on collision course with God and that afterwards beats you up over it. The question is, can you observe this force in you? You might have seen a few select people where this force is so out in the open that it actually becomes visible, but for most of us, this force is hidden inside, that is, if the conjecture of the Course in Miracles is the right one and it indeed exits. In my experience it does, but you may have to do a little digging before it becomes visible.
One area where this cancerous force comes out of hiding is the painful journey towards addiction. Gambling, sex, alcohol or drugs, you name it, the paths all tend to be quite similar. It is a journey into bondage where at one point Mr. Hyde gets the upper hand and Dr. Jekyll has to watch helplessly how the 'you' takes one step after the other down the path of destruction. With an addiction, the cancerous force is out in the open and you, and soon everyone else, can see it very clearly. Every further step towards it and its grip tightens, every step in the opposite direction, difficult though it may be, and you realize that you get your freedom back. Fighting addiction is like a cancer treatment. You throw everything you got at it to turn the car around, and you actually weaken the 'you' in the interim before you slowly get your old self back.
Dear reader, this is an advanced course as you probably have figured out by now.It's not about having a pleasant life with a few mystic powers attached, our spiritual path is about getting our freedom back. The average person may be lucky enough not to face this cancerous force, but you will. If the conjecture of the Course of Miracle is correct and deep inside of you hides a force that wants to prevent you from going home, you will have to encounter it as you remove layer after layer of your personality blanket. On the way to your core you will meet it. In my experience it is nothing to be afraid of, you just have to be willing to look. You probably have already a hunch in which area of your personality structure it will be hiding. Buddha faced sex and Jesus faced power as their last temptation before the final curtain lifted; what will be your temptation?
I don't know what will happen to the force once you look at it and decide to move on despite it's calling. Will the cancer just be in remission, or will it shrink into nothing? In the same vein as a recovered addict knows that the temptation to go back is always present, but chooses to walk along the road towards freedom instead.
One area where this cancerous force comes out of hiding is the painful journey towards addiction. Gambling, sex, alcohol or drugs, you name it, the paths all tend to be quite similar. It is a journey into bondage where at one point Mr. Hyde gets the upper hand and Dr. Jekyll has to watch helplessly how the 'you' takes one step after the other down the path of destruction. With an addiction, the cancerous force is out in the open and you, and soon everyone else, can see it very clearly. Every further step towards it and its grip tightens, every step in the opposite direction, difficult though it may be, and you realize that you get your freedom back. Fighting addiction is like a cancer treatment. You throw everything you got at it to turn the car around, and you actually weaken the 'you' in the interim before you slowly get your old self back.
Dear reader, this is an advanced course as you probably have figured out by now.It's not about having a pleasant life with a few mystic powers attached, our spiritual path is about getting our freedom back. The average person may be lucky enough not to face this cancerous force, but you will. If the conjecture of the Course of Miracle is correct and deep inside of you hides a force that wants to prevent you from going home, you will have to encounter it as you remove layer after layer of your personality blanket. On the way to your core you will meet it. In my experience it is nothing to be afraid of, you just have to be willing to look. You probably have already a hunch in which area of your personality structure it will be hiding. Buddha faced sex and Jesus faced power as their last temptation before the final curtain lifted; what will be your temptation?
I don't know what will happen to the force once you look at it and decide to move on despite it's calling. Will the cancer just be in remission, or will it shrink into nothing? In the same vein as a recovered addict knows that the temptation to go back is always present, but chooses to walk along the road towards freedom instead.
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