Yes, I know … some people think I don’t “get it.” They think I’m living in la-la land, a world of unjustified optimism … and they bristle when I mention A Course in Miracles and say how much it has helped me … how I have indeed witnessed hundreds of miracles … how I am now living my miracle full-time.
You would think that self-proclaimed “scientists” would look “objectively” at the “evidence” of success, but that’s the thing about perception. Those who are determined not to see will write off all the evidence that goes against their negative beliefs, and thus they will continue to live in a negative world regardless of what is really happening.
“What, you now have basically everything you want, and you’re teaching others to have the same … how dare you?” they scream … ignoring all results as “coincidences” and brandishing the tattered techniques that have never helped anybody attain happiness, empowerment, and peace.
Let me be very clear, and anyone who opens their eyes will see this clearly:
THE EGO HAS NO CLOTHES.
I have said that the crucifixion is the symbol of the ego. When it was confronted with the real guiltlessness of God’s Son it did attempt to kill him, and the reason it gave was that guiltlessness is blasphemous to God. To the ego, the ego is God, and guiltlessness must be interpreted as the final guilt that fully justifies murder. You do not yet understand that any fear you may experience in connection with this course stems ultimately from this interpretation, but if you will consider your reactions to it you will become increasingly convinced that this is so.
This course has explicitly stated that its goal for you is happiness and peace. Yet you are afraid of it. You have been told again and again that it will set you free, yet you sometimes react as if it is trying to imprison you. You often dismiss it more readily than you dismiss the ego’s thought system. To some extent, then, you must believe that by not learning the course you are protecting yourself. And you do not realize that it is only your guiltlessness that can protect you.
The Atonement has always been interpreted as the release from guilt, and this is correct if it is understood. Yet even when I interpret it for you, you may reject it and do not accept it for yourself. You have perhaps recognized the futility of the ego and its offerings, but though you do not want them, you may not yet look upon the alternative with gladness. In the extreme, you are afraid of redemption and you believe it will kill you. Make no mistake about the depth of this fear. For you believe that, in the presence of truth, you might turn on yourself and destroy yourself.
Little child, this is not so. Your “guilty secret” is nothing, and if you will but bring it to the light, the Light will dispel it. And then no dark cloud will remain between you and the remembrance of your Father, for you will remember His guiltless Son, who did not die because he is immortal. And you will see that you were redeemed with him, and have never been separated from him. In this understanding lies your remembering, for it is the recognition of love without fear. There will be great joy in Heaven on your homecoming, and the joy will be yours. For the redeemed son of man is the guiltless Son of God, and to recognize him is your redemption.
If you find yourself resisting the Course, I’d invite you to explore why that is. If you’re anything like me or the many people I’ve guided through this process, you are not actually resisting the Course. Your resistance likely stems from the ego-based distortions of “God” and “Christianity” that were foisted upon you earlier in your life.
Let me be clear, the Course is not a “religion.” And as those of you know who have followed my blog for a long time, I do not put Christianity above any other religion. You have seen me draw from the Tao and from Vedic traditions. And you have seen me speak the same messages in agnostic terms. This is because, to me, all religions are the same in their purest form. And in their purest form, religions do not ask you to give your power away to an external authority. They facilitate you taking your power back. They are “democratic” in the best sense of that word, meaning that each person (as a part of the unified hologram in which we live) has equal power.
And the only real question is whether you are recognizing and living from your power, or deceiving yourself into believing that you can give your power away (i.e., by not taking responsibility for the fact that you create everything in your life with your mind).
When I recommend that you read the Course, I am not “preaching” a religion. I am inviting you to read and study a book that will give you your power back in a profound way that is unimaginable from ego consciousness.
I am not asking you to become a Christian. I am asking you to recognize that You are God, you are Christ, you are Buddha, you are Krishna. You are EVERYTHING, because there is nothing else. And when you have realized this, you will no longer believe that you are at the mercy of the world around you, because YOU created it. It is an extension and a projection of YOUR mind.
Yes, I’m well aware that many people (myself included) were taught heavily ego-distorted versions of religion as children, so when we are confronted with a religious text, all those old “painful” associations get triggered. We think people are trying to control us. We remember images of a cruel and vengeful God. We remember being subjected to arbitrary rules that made no sense, and guilt trips that crippled our ability to choose with clarity for ourselves.
THAT version of religion is yet another one of the ego’s tricks to prevent you from recognizing Who You Really Are. THAT version of religion is entirely absent from the Course.
I told Vegas Guy about ACIM many months ago. Only recently did he get a copy and start reading it. He then said: “This is the book I had been looking for all along.”
That’s similar to the response I had when I finally read it (two years after purchasing it). I said to myself, “Holy crap, this is the guidebook that tells us why we’re here and what to do about it. The instruction manual we left behind when we decided to incarnate here.”
Human consciousness has evolved. You are an adult now. You are free to choose again. You can negotiate a new relationship with God, in which you stop being a helpless child and stop seeing God as an extension of your own parents, and you start being a powerful co-creator with God.
As with most powerful choices, this one requires facing what you’ve been avoiding.
I will say it again, as I’ve found there is value in repetition: regardless of your chosen religion, A Course in Miracles is THE most powerful book I’ve ever found for living fully in your power. If you are tired of not having what you want, read it. If you refuse to read it, ask yourself what you are scared of discovering.
The answer may surprise you.