The Ego Believes that by Punishing Itself It Will Mitigate the Punishment of God

“The ego believes that by punishing itself it will mitigate the punishment of God. (T84-85)”

Affirmation: “The ego believes. . .mitigate the punishment of God.”

Reflections:

1 – Masochism

This passage seems to explain masochism. We think that if we cause pain to ourselves first, then God’s punishment of us (in which we erroneously believe) will be lessened.

2 – Insane Thinking

This is insane thinking. The ego is insane. Let us not forget this concept of A Course in Miracles.

3 – Punished Less?

We think that we will be punished less if we level the punishment on ourselves. We are trying to manipulate God, who actually does not punish at all. But we ourselves make a grievous mistake when we seek to bring down hell fire on our heads. What a waste!

4 – Arrogance

“Yet even in this it is arrogant. It attributes to God a punishing intent, and then takes this intent as its own prerogative. (T85)”

The ego is always arrogant. That is why, when we give ourselves noble intentions, the ego often tells us that WE are arrogant. We are children of God, who when we are in our Self, are not arrogant at all. God has given us a very lofty purpose—forgiveness, salvation, happiness—that we are not meeting, and therefore we feel guilty. But our sense of guilt needs to be overcome. And it certainly does not merit punishment, which is masochism.

5 – Egotistic Thinking

We in our egoistic thinking do not have to punish ourselves at all. To do so actually is the reverse of what we want, for any number of reasons, including the fact that punishing ourselves strengthens the ego. We want to let the ego wither away. In no way does God punish us. This concept of A Course in Miracles is in line with the New Testament, but opposed to the Old Testament. May we accept Jesus’s teaching in both ACIM and the New Testament, and know God as a loving and accepting God who wants only the best for us. Anything else we have unconsciously chosen, and this can be changed with the right understanding, and the right reflection upon what we are actually doing to ourselves.

6 – What Do You Want?

“The ego cannot oppose the laws of God any more than you can, but it can interpret them according to what it wants, just as you can. That is why the question, ‘What do you want?’ must be answered. You are answering it every minute and every second, and each moment of decision is a judgment that is anything but ineffectual. (T85)”

We must ask ourselves, not the ego, but our real Self, what we want in every moment which we view as a moment of choice. We get guidance, sure, but we still have the right to refuse that guidance (though that is not wise). And when we set ourselves on the right course, we take the next right action without consciously asking for advice from the Holy Spirit.

7 – The Question

“What do we want?” is an especially potent question, filled with meaning and lofty with purpose. If we want God and God alone, we are on the right track. If we want the things of this world first, we have our priorities skewed. If we want God first of all, all of the things of the world will be added according to our need and often according to our want. This is New Testament thinking that is supported also by the later ACIM. Jesus does not change his mind in that regard.

Prayer:

Dear Father,

May I know that there is no need for me to punish myself for anything that I have done. I may know guilt, and this is a form of punishment. God would never punish; it is always us that are doing this.

May my ego wither away. I have prayed for this often, and so I have not accepted the truth of this promise that it can wither away. May I accept this promise now and forevermore.

May this day go smoothly for myself and all who read this prayer. May we walk in Your way, sure of our purpose and certain of Your love. Thank You for the presence of Yourself that so often I feel.

Amen.

Being Tempted to Reenter the House of Illusion

“You will be tempted, nonetheless, to reenter the house of illusion, if only to grasp the hands of those you love and gently tug them through its doors. You will be able to take note of the explosions happening within and will want to return to add your own to those going on inside, thinking that with the force of one more, maybe the walls will finally come tumbling down and those inside be held within illusion no more. (Treatises of A Course of Love: Treatise on the Personal Self, 9.5)”

Affirmation: “I cannot help others by reentering the house of illusion myself.”

Reflections:

1 – Other People Caught in Illusion

We mean others well, most especially our significant others who are still caught in illusion. We have moved outside the house of illusion, but there are explosions within that rock the world. And we would rescue our brothers and sisters who still reside in the house of illusion. Can we do this meaningfully?

2 – Do Not Lose Your Insight

Jesus says not. We do not help by reentering the house of illusion, for we will lose our insight. We do best by living in reality, in the real world, once that has been granted us. And then, by our example, those caught in the house of illusion are coached outward. There is no better way.

3 – A House of Cards

The “explosions” are evidence that the house of cards that is the house of illusion is beginning to fall. This world is transforming, though the transformation, entirely, may take millions of years (a tenet from A Course in Miracles). Just as it took millions of years for the separation to occur. But the way back has been set now. And those of us who live in this new world of Christ are ready, even when, in our weakest moments, the ego informs us that we are mistaken, that we are poor and miserable and guilty of arrogance.

4 – Not Arrogance

It is not arrogance to listen to Jesus in A Course of Love, and to realize that finally we have moved beyond believing in the part of ourselves that we defined as the ego. We are no longer living that illusion. It is true that we may slip (a personal interpretation, not stated in A Course in Miracles or ACOL). But we get ourselves up from the ground, dust ourselves off, and start all over again (as a popular song notes).

5 – House of Illusion on Borrowed Time

The house of cards that is the house of illusion is living on borrowed time. May we listen to the explosions within, from our vantage point from without. And as others emerge from the chaos within the house of illusion, may we be there, in reality (the real world), to help everyone adjust to the light in which we now live.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

I would know that I cannot help my loved ones by reentering illusion with them. I can best help them by staying in the real world, the world of truth, the House of Truth, that is outside the House of Illusion. Within there are those who are beginning to see differently, to see a better way. And it is they who are causing the explosions that will ultimately bring down the House of Illusion.

Thank You for these concepts, and I pray that they are a correct interpretation. Help me to be contented and reassured that Your way is best, that You will do what I cannot do. But if You give me a way to help, I will try to carry it out—when you lead me, how you lead me.

Thank You for being with me today in this sometimes conflicted world made up of both illusions and truth, for both I sometimes recognize. I would live in truth always. Help me to do so.

Amen.

How to Overcome Uncertainty

“Uncertainty of any kind is doubt about your self.  This is why this Course aims to establish your identity, for from it all the rest will come.  (A Course of Love, 12.8)”

Affirmation:  “My identity is my Self.”

Reflections:

1 – How Often?

How often are we uncertain?  I would venture to guess that this state of mind happens very frequently.  We don’t know which way to turn.  If we have been students of A Course in Miracles, we know to turn to the Holy Spirit for guidance.  Now that we are studying A Course of Love, we know to turn inward to the Christ/Self within.  But do we yet believe that the inner self is really the inner Self/Christ?

2 – Christ Within

Probably not.  And that is what brings on the doubt.  We don’t really believe that we are good enough to hold Christ within us.  It is true that he is hidden from us when we are obstreperous, attacking, and angry–but we are (are we not?) learning to move beyond such undesirable states of mind and heart.  We are listening to our heart, something that we have done sporadically all of our lives.  We are listening to our heart if we are following the recommendation of ACOL.

3 – Perfection

The doubt that we are good enough to hold the Christ inside will fall away as we accept the good news that Jesus is telling us.  He assures us that we do not have to be perfect.  We only need to identify which character traits we would relinquish, and then it is done for us.  The intention is all.  And then the doubt will fall away.  We know that all of our brothers and sisters, likewise, hold Christ within.  We are not unique.  This assurance will help us to realize that we are not lost in grandiose dreams.  We are instead encouraged to accept the grandeur of our being, the grandeur that God welcomes us as His children, eventually as co-creators with Him.  And when the Self who is within, the Christ who is within, is accepted fully, we will not have any sense of false humility, not any false humility that is actually arrogance that we cannot be as good as God has created us.

4 – Accept Others

When we establish our identity as the Self/Christ that we are within, we will reach out with more acceptance of other people.  We frequently act badly because of a poor self-image, and this poor self-image will vanish in the glory of recognizing who we really are.  Then our Self will move to create the elevated Self of form, and we will not be quite so ready to denigrate the physical in our lives.  Yes, the physical is an illusion, but the illusion is quite solid to us, and to deny this fact is a particularly unfortunate type of denial.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

May I move closer to a full acceptance of the Christ/Self within me, as he/she is within all of us.  May I not feel that to think this way is arrogance, but actually not to think this way is arrogance.  Would we deny what we are learning about who we really are?  Who Jesus is teaching us that we really are?

Jesus has told us that we are the same as he.  And yet we find this difficult to accept.  May we seek forgiveness for our stubborness, a forgiveness that we need to grant ourselves, for God does not condemn and therefore does not need to forgive us.  We do not need to condemn ourselves either.  

Be with me today as I ponder these deep truths from A Course of Love.  There is little doubt that I can attract whatever I wish, and today I wish for Your mercy.  Be with me as I seek to reach for the stars, even as all of us reach for the stars.  This is not arrogance or grandiosity, but the sanest sense.  Thank You for leading Jesus to guide us to this knowledge.

Amen.