Dialogue with Our Intimates

“You are not a “student” of The Dialogues but a full participant in The Dialogues. You have entered the final stages of revelation of Who You Are. When Who You Are is fully revealed you will realize that it is time to leave the classroom and live as Who You Are in the world. You will realize that your participation in the world as Who You Are is part of an on-going dialogue, and that it is an on-going aspect of creation by which the new will be created.” (ACOL, A.42)

We are not often considered “students” of A Course of Love, though we have been considered students of A Course in Miracles (until we become “teachers,” as in the Manual for Teachers). First, we do “learn” (as in the Course of Love proper and the Treatises), but we trade this idea in for a time in which we “discover.” Discovering is seen as a sharing experience; we discover in the bonds of relationship with others, all our brothers and sisters. When we learn, we are participating as unequals, learning from Jesus what will carry us forward.

By the time that we read the Dialogues, we are equals in this manner of discovering what life is and who we are. The dialogue with others becomes the most important way in which we discover. And this includes a dialogue with Jesus, who takes a personal interest in us and our lives. Eventually, though, we find that he wants us to stand on our own two feet, following the new knowledge that arises from the larger Self, God Himself/Herself, and the inner Christ-Self whom we all inside us.

It may still be confusing to us to read that we are to be “who we are.” We may not have left behind a restless search to be an ideal self, to be more than what we are. But Jesus says in ACOL that perfection is not required (he will correct all mistakes that we cannot), and we are eminently loveable just as we are. This comes as great relief to some, as disappointment to others. If we are not striving for perfection,, what is there to strive for in this life of ours?

We promote love’s extension—that is what we are after for all eternity. We turn to the expression of love as our correct substitute to lives spent trying to improve ourselves to some illusive ideal.

Is this expression of love not a laudable way to spend our days? Of course it is. And it is a restful concept that is head and shoulders above what we used to chase after as beings caught in the throes of egotistical challenges. As we leave the ego behind, we gradually come to love more, for no longer are we competing with our equals, our brothers and sisters. We are sharing with them, even as we are communing with God. The cooperative nature of true reality becomes the final lesson. When we live in cooperation with others, their lives become important to us. We love, and we love deeply. Our equality with all human beings gives us the basis for a laudable way to live our lives, in deep love and appreciation for ourselves and the other beings on earth with us.

Dear God,

I would express love today to all I encounter. I discover that this love makes life worthwhile, worth living. My achievements come later to be less important, because they are not trying to satisfy an egoic dissatisfaction with all of life.

Thank You for taking me by the hand and leading me. This guidance opens the way to a glorious existence. It gives me reason to live.

Amen.