Deciding to be Totally Objective is a Subjective Decision

Soon after the disciples had participated in the feeding of the multitude by setting the seven loaves before them and feeding the four thousand, they were in a boat with Jesus, and yet they were concerned, realizing that they had forgotten the bread, and reasoning among themselves. Jesus, fully aware of their doubts, said to them:

Why do you reason because you have no bread?
Do you not perceive nor understand?
Is your heart still hardened?

Having eyes, do you not see?
And having ears, do you not hear?
And do you not remember?
Mark: 8:17,18

Jesus had taught them to see with vision, rather than with human eyes, yet He knew full well that now they were not being mindful of the things of God because they were still caught up in seeing with the eyes of man and hearing with human ears, experiencing what they wished to see and hear.

The purpose of all seeing is to show
you what you wish to see. All hearing but
brings to your mind the sounds it wants to hear.
W-p1.161.2:4,5

For a moment they had forgotten that they were the holy Sons of God.

In the 2000 years since, unfortunately, not much has changed in the way we see and the way we believe. We are still reasoning and murmuring among ourselves, seeing with the eyes of man, rather than seeing with the eyes of Christ. That is why Jesus begins the Lessons of His Course in Miracles as He does.

Lesson 1: Nothing I see means anything.

Jesus knows that our mind-training must begin by learning to question what we consider an absolutely true proposition:

Seeing is believing.

What we see, and by extension, hear, touch, smell and taste, we believe to be real, and yet this seeing is illusory, false.

Yet eyes accustomed to illusions must
be shown that what they look upon is false.
W-p1.137.4:5

These eyes are insane.

As you look with open eyes upon your world, it must occur to you that you have withdrawn into insanity. You see what is not there, and you hear what makes no sound. And the vision of Christ is not in your sight, for you look upon yourself alone. T-13.V.6:1-1,2

The purpose of the mind-training is to shift from believing in appearances to seeing with Christ vision, looking through appearances, experiencing knowledge. Jesus assures us that He went through the same experience, saying early in His Course:

I was a man who remembered spirit and its knowledge. I demonstrated both the powerlessness of the body and the power of the mind. By uniting my will with that of my Creator, I naturally remembered spirit and its real purpose. I cannot unite your will with God’s for you, but I can erase all misperceptions from your mind if you will bring it under my guidance. Only your misperceptions stand in your way. T-3.lV.7:3-8

As I undergo this mind-training moment-to-moment, I am being asked to be vigilant, keenly watchful of how I see things, exactly how I make up my illusory world, exactly how I misperceive.

I came across a poem the other day that helps me in my vigilance. Here is A Study of Two Pears by Wallace Stevens (1879-1955 ).


l

Opusculum paedagogum.
The pears are not viols,
Nudes or bottles.
They resemble nothing else.

II

They are yellow forms
Composed of curves
Bulging toward the base.
They are touched red.

III

They are not flat surfaces
Having curved outlines.
They are round
Tapering toward the top.

IV

In the way they are modelled
There are bits of blue.
A hard dry leaf hangs From the stem.

V

The yellow glistens.
It glistens with various yellows,
Citrons, oranges and greens
Flowering over the skin.

VI

The shadows of the pears
Are blobs on the green cloth.
The pears are not seen
As the observer wills.

In his poem, Stevens is taking a stand, declaring that we must be absolutely objective in how we look at things, appearances. He ironically labels his call for objectivity opusculum paedogogum, a Latin phrase meaning “ minor lesson.” He is deliberately being ironic because in his mind, being objective is a major lesson in seeing.

In stanza l, he makes his point by catching us in our automatic associating, immediately bringing to mind images of comparison, viols, nudes, or bottles.

In the next four stanzas, the pears are carefully discerned, objectively, simply in terms of form and color.

And in stanza Vl, he summarizes his “objective” seeing in this manner:

The pears are not seen
As the observer wills.

Now, what Stevens does not see, but what we do, is that this last line is truly ironic. In spite of his determination to be objective, it is impossible. All seeing is subjective.

That is why deciding to be totally objective is a subjective decision.

Here is the first meaning of subjective in the dictionary: "belonging to the thinking subject, rather than to the object of thought."

The root meaning of subjective, objective, object is the Latin ject, meaning “to throw.” In each case, we are throwing out into the world what is first in our minds. This happens so rapidly that we think that what is “out there” is separate from what is “in here,” when, in fact, it is a duplication, and we are instantly, constantly being duped by this action of mind.

Projection is perception. The world you see is what you gave it, nothing more than that. But though it is no more than that, it is not less. Therefore, to you it is important. It is the witness to your state of mind, the outside picture of an inward condition. As a man thinketh, so does he perceive. T-21.Intro.1:1-7

The root meaning of perceive comes from percipere, meaning "to take, to lay hold of, to receive." We rapidly catch what we forgot that we threw out in the first place. This rapidity makes our part in seeing unconscious, invisible. Making our illusory world is like playing catch with ourselves: we throw the ball in the air and then we catch it; we project an image and then we receive it.

I am grateful to Stevens because he is so determined to show us that we can have nothing to do with what we see, when, in fact, we can see that we have absolutely everything to do with what we see, always seeing our own projections.

The pears are not seen
As the observer wills.

In the end, with our eyes, and our human mind, we can see ONLY As the observer wills.

Therefore, seek not to change the world, but choose to change your mind about the world. Perception is a result and not a cause. Everything looked upon with vision is healed and holy. Nothing perceived without it means anything. And where there is no meaning, there is chaos.
T-21.Intro.1:7-12

In sharp contrast to Stevens’ quest for objectivity is Walt Whitman’s deliberate attempt to express himself subjectively. The great American poet (1819-1892) begins his masterpiece, Leaves of Grass, with this line:

I CELEBRATE myself,
And what I assume you shall assume.

This makes it clear that Whitman intentionally filters his poetry through his own experience and expresses these associations. A good example is his poem, When lilacs last in the dooryard bloomed, his moving attempt to come to terms with his grief for the assassination in April of 1865 of his beloved Abraham Lincoln Here is the first stanza.

WHEN lilacs last in the door-yard bloom’d,
And the great star early droop’d in the western sky in the night,
I mourn’d—and yet shall mourn with ever-returning spring.
O ever-returning spring! trinity sure to me you bring;
Lilac blooming perennial, and drooping star in the west,
And thought of him I love.

It is clear that for the rest of his life, particularly in the spring, Whitman will associate the lilacs and the western star with mournful thoughts of Lincoln. His subjective expression drives a powerful poem.

This dichotomy between objective and subjective poetry is obviously false. You have no choice but to express yourself, in effect, to CELEBRATE yourself, and there is nothing objective about this.

Lesson 2: I have given everything I see all the meaning it has for me.

Now we come to the reason for taking you through this false, objective/subjective dichotomy. It provides a sharp contrast for understanding what it means to go beyond having eyes but not seeing, and having ears but not hearing.

Here is a poem by William Carlos Williams (1883-1963 ) that helps make this transition; it helps take us beyond.

A Red Wheelbarrow

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain water

beside the white
chickens.

At first glance, this may appear to be an attempt at objectivity in the spirit of Stevens, just images, no commentary, no interpretation. The word depends, however, carries another connotation, as in, “My life depends on it.” Williams is saying that my life depends on seeing things exactly as they are. This echoes Lesson 268, Let all things be exactly as they are.

Let not our sight be blasphemous today,
Nor let our ears attend to lying tongues.
Only reality is free of pain.
Only reality is free of loss.
And it is only this we seek today.
W-p11.268.2:1-5

I came across The Red Wheelbarrow in an anthology, and the anthologist, Douglas Hunt, intuited this larger meaning, the search for reality.

At the bottom of Stevens’ poetry there is wonder and delight, the child’s or animal’s or savage’s joy in his own existence, and thankfulness for it. He is the poet of well-being. His sigh of awe, of wondering pleasure, is underneath all these poems that show us the “celestial possible,” everything that has not yet been transformed into the infernal impossibilities of our everyday earthly seeing. He sits surrounded by all the good things of this earth, with rosy cheeks and fresh clear blue eyes, eyes not going out to you but shining in their places, like fixed stars. (Douglas Hunt, The Riverside Anthology of Literature, (Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1988), p. 938)

In this passage, Hunt reminds us that far beyond our dualistic ideas about seeing either objectively, or subjectively, i.e., the infernal impossibilities of our everyday earthly seeing, is the glorious celestial possibility of seeing with vision.

Today I see the world in the celestial gentleness with which creation shines. W-p11.265.1:4

The smallest leaf becomes as thing of wonder, and a blade of grass a sign of God's perfection. T-17.ll.6;3

Right now, today, we can see the shining of creation by shifting our awareness from our fearful, sightless eyes to the eyes of Christ, and then:

What is reflected there is in God’s Mind.
The images I see reflect my thoughts.
Yet is my mind at one with God’s. And so
I can perceive creation’s gentleness.

In quiet would I look upon the world,
which but reflects Your Thoughts and mine as well.
Let me remember that they are the same,
and I will see creations’ gentleness.
W-p11.265.1:7-10,2:1,2


So much, indeed, depends on this shift from my seeing to Thy Seeing, from mine to Thine.

So much depends—peace and happiness and love—on seeing a red wheelbarrow with vision.

Jesus said to His disciples, And do you not remember?

Do not seek vision through your eyes, for you made your way of seeing that you might see in darkness, and in this you are deceived. Beyond this darkness, and yet still within you, is the vision of Christ, Who looks on all in light.
T-13.v.9:1,2


Christ's is the vision I will use today.

Each day, each hour, every instant, I
am choosing what I want to look upon,
the sounds I want to hear, the witnesses
to what I want to be the truth for me.
Today I choose to look upon what Christ
would have me see, to listen to God's Voice,
and seek the witnesses to what is true
in God's creation. In Christ's sight, the world
and God's creation meet, and as they come
together all perception disappears.
His kindly sight redeems the world from death,
for nothing that He looks on but must live,
remembering the Father and the Son;
Creator and creation unified.

Father, Christ's vision is the way to You.
What He beholds invites Your
memory to be restored to me. And this I choose,
to be what I would look upon today.
W-p11.271

Learning to see with Christ vision is a restoration process, and now I want to be about it, looking up from this page, now, and seeing through appearances to the bright reflection of God’s creation.

Guy on a Cross

Recently, my friend, Diane Poe, asked me to read a draft of Guy on a Cross. I found reading it to be powerful and riveting, and its impact lingered in my mind for some time after wards. Now I want to share it with you.

* * *

Guy on a Cross
　
I

We hear a hammer hitting wood. Guy is hanging on a cross, his friends just finishing up the job. They pick up their tools, getting ready to leave.

Friend 1: You OK up there, Guy? You need anything. Water?

Guy: No. I’m fine. Thanks. This is great, guys, I owe you. See you later.

Friend 2: Right, then. Well, we’re off. Hey you guys, want to get a beer, or something?

All: Yeah, great, let’s go.

Guy: So long, guys. Thanks again!

They go. One friend hangs back.

Pete: Say, Guy, can I ask you a question?

Guy: Sure, Pete. What’s up?

Pete: I’m sorry, Guy. I know you’ve explained it already; but I still don’t get it. Could you go over it one more time? For the dummies?

Guy: OK, here goes. The abridged version: I’m a sinner, right? I’m scum. I’m no good. Trash. Jesus was perfect, the Holy Son of God. He died for me. The only way I can show my love and appreciation for Him is to go through the same thing He did. I want to be perfect like He was, so I have to do what he did. Punishing myself is the only way I can get rid of my guilt. Expiate. Justify. There. Have I made myself clear?

Pete: Well, that’s the same thing you’ve been saying for the past few days. I understand the words, but I still don’t get it.

Guy: You will one day.

Pete: I guess. How long are you gonna be up there?

Guy: I don’t know. I’ll know when the time is right, though.
　
Silence.

Pete turns to leave. Another friend enters.

Friend 3: I forgot my hammer. There it is. Hey, Pete. You coming with us?

Pete: Hey, can I ask you a question? Come over here.

They move to where Guy can’t hear them.

Pete: Do you get this? I mean, we didn’t actually nail him there, did we? We were just pretending, weren’t we?

Friend: Sure. You know Guy. He loves his drama. He’s fine. He’ll hang up there until he decided it’s time to get off. It’s up to him. I, for one, don’t want to stand here and watch him. Let’s go.

They leave.

Guy wriggles around a bit to get comfortable. Finds a position that is what he thinks is more comfortable. Looks up.
Guy: Wow. This isn’t too bad. Why didn’t I think of this before? It’s almost morning. It’s going to be a beautiful day. This is great.

2

Sun coming up. A cap is on the ground below him. Guy has dozed off. His body slumped down, head to one side. He wakes up.

Guy: Wow. Must have dozed off. Hmm. Sun’s coming up. This is going to be great…..

There it is! Oh man this is unbelievable. …

Wow is it bright. (squints) Right in my eyes. (Tries to avoid the sun). Guess I should have thought this out a bit more. Maybe faced south east .. Oh, man. Should have asked for a cap or something.

Looks down. Sees the cap.

Guy: Hmmm. How did that get there??

A lot of good that does me, down there on the ground. (pause)

Looks like it’s going to be a hot one. Bet I get a hell of a burn. Just my luck. Those stupid guys should have put me under a tree where at least I could get a little shade.

((looks around)

There’s a tree right over there! Why can’t I be over there? Hey! There’s another guy under that tree. Damn it! Some guys have all the luck. What’s that? Why is there a chair under his cross? Does he get to sit in that chair? Why does HE get to sit in a chair??? Damn it! (listens) And he has music!? DAMN IT!”

3

It’s hot, and Guy is sweating and has a sunburn.

Guy: Oh, God, is it hot! (he squirms a bit) Ouch! Man! I look like a lobster! I can’t get comfortable with this sunburn.

(looks around)

Hey, Mr. Cross under a Tree is gone! That’s not fair! He could have at least left me his chair.

God, is it hot! A breeze would be nice. (a breeze kicks up. He lifts his head to catch it, then flinches) Damn! That wind is blowing sand in my eyes. It’s stinging my sunburn! DAMN! (turns head to avoid the breeze. It stops)

Now I’ve got sand in my eyes. Thanks a lot!! And in my mouth! I NEED A DRINK OF WATER!!!!!

The sky darkens, and it begins to rain. It’s gentle, almost caressing him, washing away the sand. He enjoys it. He opens his mouth, gets a mouthful and spits it out to rid it of the sand. Then he takes a long drink. He makes happy sounds.

Hey, that was great. This isn’t so bad after all.

4

Mid afternoon. A chair and small table are at the foot of the cross. There is food and drink on the table. The cap hangs on the chair. Guy wakes up from his nap.

Huh?? Oh. Must have been dreaming. (yawns) Afternoon nap (a little laugh) I guess it wasn’t too bad considering I’m hanging on a cross in the middle of the desert with no food or water in sight. Hey, what’s that down there? Did someone….? (looks around) Is that for me? (looks at it suspiciously) Looks OK. I AM hungry. Haven’t had a drink all day. Well, except for the rain, if you can count that. It was more of a storm, if you ask me, and it left me cold and wet, and now my muscles are cramping!

JESUS!! I hate this!!! I never get anything I want! All I ask for is a little food, a drink of water…..hmmm.(looks down at the table, considers getting down, but a stubborn look comes over his face. Looks away)

I wonder what time it is.











5

Evening.

Guy: It’s almost dark. At least with the sun down it won’t be so hot. And it might rain again. I could use another drink.

I thought the guys might come by. Get some pictures at least. Guess they’re too busy having a good time. All they seem to think about is doing what makes them happy. What a bunch of losers. At least I’m doing something with my life. (straightens himself on the cross, sighs)

I wonder where that other Guy went. He just upped and left. How’d he do that? What do you do? Just get tired of hanging on this stupid cross and get off? I mean, he’s nailed there just like I am, isn’t he?

(looks at his hands. He‘s holding on to the cross) Where’d the nails go? I told those guys to NAIL ME TO THIS CROSS, DAMN IT!! CAN’T ANYBODY DO ANYTHING RIGHT AROUND HERE??? I could have fallen off!!

(He sneezes, and moves his hand to rub his nose. He looks at his hand now in front of his face, surprised. He looks at his other hand, still holding onto the cross, and slowly moves it. He looks at both hands. Then, wondering, he looks down at his feet. He’s standing on a platform. He picks up one foot, looks at it, and puts it down. Repeats with the other. He looks around to see if anyone is watching. He looks at the table to see if the food is still there. It is. Cautiously he climbs down. He picks up the water and takes a long drink. He notices a blanket on the chair and wraps it around himself. Then he sits down at the table. He pulls the food toward him and picks up a piece of bread. He tears it apart. He stops. Looks back at the cross. He’s not sure what to do. He looks at the bread. Looks around him.)

Guy: (quietly) Thank you. .

Begins to eat.
　
6

Guy is on the cross, humming a little tune. Is wearing his hat. The blanket is draped over the cross piece. The table and chair is set up below him, food and drink on a clean white tablecloth. A shade tree is nearby.
Guy’s friends walk by, laughing and talking. They call and wave to him as they pass. One stops to talk.

Friend 4: Hey, Guy. We’re going to a movie. Want to come along? It’s a good one. Got two thumbs way up.

Guy: No thanks, guys. I’m going to be up here for another couple of hours.

Friend 5: You sure? You’ve been on that cross a lot lately. What’s going on, anyway?

Guy: Oh, nothing, really. It’s just something I have to do. Guilt, you know. Shame.

Friend 6: Oh, sure. I get it. (doesn’t) Well, hang in there. I mean, good luck!

Guy: Thanks.

Beat

Same guys come by from the other direction, laughing and talking about the movie. They stop to talk to Guy.

Friend 7: Hey, Guy, you missed a really great movie. It was right up your alley.

They all have comments about the movie.

Friend 8: We’re going to get a drink, Guy. Want to come along? You don’t have to stay there, do you?

Guy: Thanks, guys. I appreciate it. I need to stay here for a bit longer. You all go ahead. Have a good time.

Friend 9: Hey, Guy. I feel bad that you’re up there on that cross while we’re down here going to movies, laughing and having a good time. You sure you’re ok?
　
Guy: I’m fine. Don’t worry. This is something I have to do.

Friend 10: You mean, like, you think God told you to do this?

Guy: (as the others stop their conversation and listen) Yeah. Yeah. That’s it. God told me to do this.

Friend 10: OK, Guy. Well, we’ll see you later.

Guy: Later.

7

Guy is sitting at the foot of his cross, having a snack, maybe listening to an iPod. Suddenly he looks off as though he hears someone coming. He quickly hides his food and drink, puts away the iPod and gets back on the cross.

8

Guy is on the cross. He is watching his friends playing cards below. They are comfortable with him and no longer think him out of the ordinary. They occasionally ask him if he wants to sit in on the next hand. Or they ask him if he wants a drink. He almost agrees, but then refuses.

Guy: No, I’d better not.

9

Guy is on the cross. A group comes in from off right, excitedly talking.

Guy: Hey, what’s going on?

Voice: It’s Jesus! He’s coming!. Guy straightens up, getting ready for an audience with Jesus. He looks off left, expectantly.
Jesus comes in, talking to the crowd. Guy tries to catch his eye. He writhes and moans. Jesus is busy with the others. Finally Guy gets off his cross, picks it up and joins the crowd behind Jesus, still trying to get his attention. Unsuccessful, he tries to make his way in front of Jesus. Finally he throws himself and his cross on the ground in front of Jesus.

Jesus: (looking at Guy) Hey, Guy, you ought to let go of that thing.

Guy: What?

Jesus: You ought to let go of that thing!

Guy: What?

Jesus: (louder) YOU OUGHT TO LET GO OF THAT THING!

Guy: What? (It’s not that he doesn’t hear. The entire idea is incomprehensible to him. He really has no idea what Jesus is saying.)

Jesus: “LET GO OF IT!!”
Guy, still not understanding, picks up his cross and takes it back to its place. He gets back on it. Jesus and the crowd leave.

10

Guy is on the cross, feeling lonely. A group comes in, arguing about something. They decide to ask Guy for advice. He gives them an answer and they leave happily. Guy straightens up a bit and is proud of what he has done. More guys come in to ask questions. Soon they are sitting at his feet, listening, asking questions. They think he is very wise. They praise him. Some bring gifts to put at his feet.
　



11

Guy is talking to the crowd from his cross. A small group comes in and criticizes him, asking what he thinks he’s doing. Why is he on that cross? What is his teaching? Why aren’t these people working? Guy has no answer. “His” group defend him at first, then become confused and begin listening to the newcomers. As the newcomers leave, Guy’s crowd follows, listening intently. One comes back to pick up his offering and takes it with him. Guy is dumbfounded.
　


12

Guy is on his cross. Jesus comes in and looks at him. Guy looks at Jesus.

Guy: What?

Jesus laughs softly.

Guy: WHAT?

Jesus: That’s really not what I had in mind, you know.

Guy: What?
　

13

Guy is on the cross. Jesus stands far to the right, looking at him. Guy looks at Jesus. Jesus holds out his hand, inviting Guy to join him. Guy hesitates, shrinking back, clutching at the cross. Jesus smiles at him. Guy gets off the cross slowly and takes a few steps as Jesus watches. Guy slowly gets closer, reluctantly; he stops, looking back at the cross. He’s undecided. He looks longingly at his cross, then at Jesus. This goes on for a few moments, with Guy becoming increasingly upset. Slowly he first leans toward the cross, then takes a small step toward it. Still looking at Jesus, then, he backs up to the cross, feeling for it as he gets closer. He touches it, wraps his arms around it, clings to it, increasingly more and more upset. Weeping openly now, he totally embraces the cross, looking at Jesus, who is still smiling at him.









The Last Scene
　
A bunch of guys are sitting or lying around a low fire. It’s just coals, really, and it’s cold. They are quietly talking and laughing. Maybe they’re camping.

One bends over the fire to blow on it, hoping to stir up a flame. He puts in a few sticks.

Friend 1: Hey, the fire’s almost gone out. We need more wood. It’s going to get cold tonight.

Friend 2: We’ve already used all we brought with us, and we’ve already searched for more on the ground.

Friend 3: Any ideas, anybody?

Guy: (He‘s been sitting among the others and we don‘t realize who he is until he stands up)
Anybody got an axe?
Guy walks over to his cross, which is leaning against their equipment, and drags it out.

Guy: Somebody help me with this.

One hands Guy the axe while others help him take it apart and throw it into the fire.
We hear the sound of an axe hitting the wood, and see the fire grow larger as the others crowd around it appreciatively.

One starts to laugh, quietly. Others join in; the laughter grows. Finally everyone is laughing with joy. It grows quiet, then one cackles, and it starts again.

Curtain

The Decision-Maker Decides to Shift from Allying with the False Self to Uniting with the True Self

As I sit here in my house looking out of the window on this fine morning in early Spring, drinking coffee and reading A Course in Miracles, Lesson 95, I am one Self, united with my Creator, it is clear to me that what I am looking at in the world, the bird feeders, the lawn, the squirrels, the trees, are being brought to my awareness by my familiar narrator. His voice is natural, normal, and ordinary, naming things and giving them my personal associations, e.g., “That damn squirrel is in my bird feeder again;” “That Blue Jay is beautiful.” At any moment, what I am experiencing is a result of this personal narration. In fact, this is pretty much how the word “experience” is defined: A particular instance of "personally" encountering, or undergoing, something.

(I invite you, Dear Reader, to listen a moment to your narrative voice to become personally aware of its commentary on what you are reading right now.)

Look at the word, personally. It comes from the Latin per, meaning “through,” and son, meaning “sound.” The ancient Greek dramas took place in coliseums, and the actors wore wooden mask through which their voices were amplified, so that they could be heard. Our personal narrator projects our personality into what it sees.

What I took for granted to be real a moment ago, looking out the window, was simply a series of images seen through my false self, my personality, a mask I wear over my True Self. Of course, I realize now that, ironically, I looked up from the Course and immediately forgot what Jesus is constantly teaching us—what I am seeing is a world of my own making, and I need to train my mind to recognize what I am making. My forgetting of His lessons shows me just how difficult it is to train my mind to see in a different way.

Yesterday, I read an article in the newspaper about Eckhart Tolle. When he experienced in his mind at the age of 29 that there were two of him, a false self and a True Self, it was an awakening experience.

Born Ulrich Tolle in a small town in Germany, he spent his teen years with his father in Spain, then moved on to prepare for an academic career. By the time he was 29 and studying philosophy in London, he says, he was so miserable "I couldn't live with myself any longer." Suddenly he realized, "If I cannot live with myself, there must be two of me: the 'I' and the 'self' that 'I' cannot live with. Maybe, I thought, only one of them is real." As he tells the story in his first book, The Power of Now, he was so stunned by the idea that "my mind stopped. I was conscious, but there were no more thoughts." ("Now is the time for Tolle," USA Today, April 15, 2010, Section D, p. 1,2)

This demonstrates to us what we are up against. It is so difficult to break out of our habitual pattern of taking for granted that what we see is real. But when we do, it is an awakening. Our familiar narrative voice has been telling us these stories since we acquired language in our infancy.

Children are born into the world through pain and in pain. Their growth is attended by suffering, and they learn of sorrow and separation and death. Their minds seem to be trapped in their brain. T-13.Intro.2:5-7

This world is a picture of the crucifixion of God's Son. And until you realize that God's Son cannot be crucified, this is the world you will see. T-13.Intro.4:1,2

Of course, Jesus is well aware of our tendency to crucify ourselves, and He frequently reminds us that this is simply a mistake, not a sin, and to get on with learning to forgive.

When you fail to comply with the requirements of this course, you have merely made a mistake. This calls for correction, and for nothing else. To allow a mistake to continue is to make additional mistakes, based on the first and reinforcing it. It is this process that must be laid aside, for it is but another way in which you would defend illusions against the truth. W-p1.95.7

One of the things I do to meet the requirements of the Course is to remind myself to be vigilant about the exact reference to each pronoun. For example, look again at the pronouns in the first sentence of the above passage.

When you fail to comply with the requirements of this course, you have merely made a mistake.

In this sentence, both "you's" refer to our consciousness, our awareness, our mind that is the decision-maker. I am using the notation of regular font, you, to help me remember the referent, the decision-maker.

However, you, the decision-maker, are often tempted to fall into the trap of making an alliance with the false self. An italicized, smaller font, you represents this alliance.

The self you made is not the Son of God. Therefore, this self does not exist at all. And anything it seems to do and think means nothing. It is neither bad nor good. It is unreal, and nothing more than that. It does not battle with the Son of God. It does not hurt him, nor attack his peace. It has not changed creation, nor reduced eternal sinlessness to sin, and love to hate. What power can this self you made possess, when it would contradict the Will of God? W-p1.93.5


What we want is for the decision-maker to dissociate from the false self and unite with the True Self, indicated by bold you.

You are one Self, in perfect harmony with all there is, and all that there will be. You are one Self, the holy Son of God, united with your brothers in that Self; united with your Father in His Will. Feel this one Self in you, and let It shine away all your illusions and your doubts. This is your Self, the Son of God Himself, sinless as Its Creator, with His strength within you and His Love forever yours. You are one Self, and it is given you to feel this Self within you, and to cast all your illusions out of the one Mind that is this Self, the holy truth in you. W-p1.95.13

This bold you blends in with, unites with, everything around it.

In summary, I want to be vigilant to pronoun references:

you
decision-maker

you
True Self

you
the false self

You, the mind, the consciousness, the decision-maker. Spirit makes use of mind as means to find its Self expression. W-p1.96.4:1

You, an alliance with the false self. Yet mind can also see itself divorced from spirit, and perceive itself within a body it confuses with itself. W-p1.96.4:4

You, united with the True Self. And the mind which serves the spirit is at peace and filled with joy. Its power comes from spirit, and it is fulfilling happily its function here. W-p1.96.4:2,3

Jesus gave us His Workbook, knowing full well the training necessary for us to learn to shift our alliance with our false self to unity with our True Self. Already in Lesson 3, we can see the referents shift for the pronoun “I.”

Here is Lesson 3, These thoughts do not mean anything,
in its Review form. W-p1.51.4(4)

The thoughts of which i am aware do not mean anything because i am trying to think without God.

Once again, the notation, i, (lower case, italicized) is an attempt to convey that the conscious mind, the decision-maker, is totally allied with the false self, the wavy italics, wavering, uncertain.

What I call "my" thoughts are not my real thoughts.

In this state of mind, the decision-maker, I, in regular font, stands in the dim recognition that somewhere beyond its current awareness are real thoughts, blocked by the unreal thoughts it experiences in its unholy alliance. For Tolle, this was a profound recognition.

My real thoughts are the thoughts I think with God.

The decision-maker, I, bold, unites with real thoughts, God, its True Self. This sentence is an assertion of truth.

I am not aware of them because i have made my thoughts to take their place.

The decision-maker, I, recognizes its alliance with its illusory thoughts, i, thereby blocking its awareness of God's thoughts.

I am willing to recognize that my thoughts do not mean anything, and to let them go.

This is a very bold willingness that will lead to forgiveness of the false self and a healing union with the True Self.

I choose to have them be replaced by what they were intended to replace.

Here we are, only in Lesson 3, and we are learning that I have choice; the familiar, natural, normal, ordinary is not so. There is, indeed, something else that can dawn on my awareness, and for Tolle the awareness of Now.

My thoughts are meaningless, but all creation lies in the thoughts I think with God.

This I is, indeed bold, in its union with God.

This shift from alliance with the false self, sin, or separation, to union is acquired by forgiveness.

Forgiveness is acquired. It is not
inherent in a mind, which cannot sin.
As sin was an idea you taught yourself,
forgiveness must be learned by you as well,
but from a Teacher other than yourself,
Who represents the other Self in you.
Through Him you learn how to forgive the self
you think you made, and let it disappear.
Thus you return your mind as one to Him
who is your Self, and who can never sin.
W-p1.121.6

* * *

Again, I, the decision-maker, am sitting on the couch, looking out the window, seeing the bird feeders, the lawn. . . Stop! I close your eyes. Breathe in and breathe out. Help. I want to unite with God, remembering that I have choice, that I am responsible.

I am responsible for what I, or i, see.

I choose the feelings I,or i, experience, and I decide upon the goal I, or i, would achieve.

And everything that seems to happen to me I ask for, and receive as I have asked. T-21.II.2:3-5

Now, I breathe in, breathe out, and open my eyes; I see a reflection mirroring my peaceful mind, actually it’s not so much seeing as feeling. . .

Your foot has reached the lawns that welcome you
to Heaven’s gate; the quiet place of peace. W-p1. 194.1:3

Now.

Welcome Home!

Happy Easter! Everything is all right.

Everything is all right.

There is nothing to worry about.

That’s because there is only Everything.

Nothing was made by me to defend against Everything.

Everything is real, Light, Truth, Love.

Nothing is unreal, darkness, illusion, fear.

Experiencing Everything, or nothing, is simply a reflection of my state of mind.

What I see can only mirror my state of mind.

Seeing through my limited eyes, I see nothing, darkness.

Seeing through Christ eyes, I see Everything, light.

When I find myself seeing through Christ eyes, I am grateful, and I say, “Thank You.”

When I am seeing through my limited eyes, I am troubled, and I say, “Help.”

The miracle is a shift in perception from seeing with my eyes to seeing with the eyes of Christ.

While seeing with my eyes, I am crucifying myself.

While seeing with the eyes of Christ, I am resurrected.

Now, Everything mirrors my resurrected Christ Mind.

Everything is all right.

Connecting Alice's Experiences in Wonderland in Tim Burton's Movie with the Problem-Solving Power of Sleeping Dreams

The other night, my wife, Christine, and I went to see Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. Walking out of the theater, I found myself thinking of one scene, in particular. At the end, soon after Alice emerges from the rabbit hole, she walks into the ongoing Garden Party. Because of her adventures down the rabbit hole, she is now certain and decisive and confident, addressing each person, one by one, resolutely solving the problem that had been left irresolute. This is quite a contrast to her state of mind at the beginning when she was uncertain and indecisive and passive. Her new-found confidence is demonstrated in the following scenes, contrasting her behavior before and after her descent into Wonderland.

Before.

HAMISH. Alice Kingsley, will you be my wife? The question hangs in the air. The musicians' bows are poised. The party has fallen silent. It seems the whole world is listening. Unsure of herself, unsure of her future, unsure of anything in that moment, Alice stammers.

ALICE. I. . .I. . .would have to say. . .everyone thinks I should. . .and there's no reason not to. . .so I suppose my answer would have to be. . .I would have to say. . . She trails off as she sees the White Rabbit leaning against a pillar, glaring at her with undisguised impatience.

After.

Alice turns to Hamish, her adventure, although unremembered, has given Alice unwavering confidence and self-awareness.

ALICE. I'm sorry Hamish, I can't marry you. You're not the right man for me.

Before.

Alice continues to look for the elusive rabbit. She hears rustling ahead and peeks around a tree. . surprising a man and a woman kissing. The woman gasps and runs off. The man turns. It's Margaret's husband, Lowell.

ALICE. Lowell?

LOWELL. Alice. We were. . .Katrina is an old friend.

ALICE. (upset) I can see you're very close. He's caught and he knows it. So he goes on the offensive.

LOWELL. You won't tell your sister about this, will you?

ALICE. I don't know. I need time to think.

LOWELL. Think of Margaret. This would be devastating to her.

ALICE. I know!

LOWELL. Marriage is based on trust. She would never trust me again. You don't want to ruin your sister's marriage, do you?

ALICE. But I'm not the one. . .

LOWELL. She must never know about this.

After.

ALICE. (to her sister) You shouldn't act so smug, Margaret. Your life may not be as perfect as you think it is. She whispers the truth about her husband in Margaret's ear. Margaret gasps and glares at the suddenly sheepish Lowell.

Before.

IMOGENE. Alice? What's this I hear that you don't want to marry Hamish?

ALICE. I didn't say that. I'm not certain. .
.
IMOGENE. Marry him, Alice. If you don't, you'll lay awake at night in your cold, cold bed, growing older and older waiting for the perfect man.

After.

ALICE. (gently to Aunt Imogene) There is no prince, Aunt Imogene. You need to talk to someone about these delusions.

Before.

Strolling with Alice in the garden, Lady Ascot sees something off.

LADY ASCOT. Incompetence The gardeners planted white roses when I specifically asked for red.

ALICE. I like white roses.

LADY ASCOT. You couldn't possibly. They're too bland.

After.

ALICE. (to Lady Ascot) I happen to love white roses, Lady Ascot, as well as rabbits.

Before.

MARGARET. Such an embarrassment. And now that Father is gone, you can't depend on Mother to support you. You don't want to be a burden, do you?
She's succeeded in making Alice feel not only insecure but guilty as well.

After.

ALICE. (turning to her mother) Don't worry, Mother. I won't be a burden. I'll find something useful to do with my life.

Finally.

ALICE (looks around) Is that everyone?

LORD ASCOT. You've left me out.

ALICE. No, I haven't. You and I have business to discuss. sir. They're all surprised to hear the word coming out of a young woman's mouth.

When we arrived home that evening after the movie, I was still musing about the connection between Alice's dreams in Wonderland, and her new state of mind that enabled her to solve the problems in her life. We decided to watch a television program, and "by chance" we watched a NOVA program entitled, "What are dreams?"

It just so happens that the theme of the program is that sleeping dreams prepare us for solving problems in our waking life, or rather, as Teachers of A Course in Miracles, we refer to it as a waking dream. There's not really any difference between sleeping dreams and waking dreams.

During the program, I was struck by one of the commentators in particular, Dr. Deidre Barrett, a professor at Harvard Medical School, who has studied extensively the connection between dreams and problem-solving. She demonstrated this connection by citing examples of musicians and writers and scientists who solved problems in their dreams that they were unable to solve during the day. For example, Stravinsky dreamed essential elements of Rite of Spring; Robert Lewis Stevenson dreamed two key scenes of his novel, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; Mendeleev described dreaming the periodic table of the elements in its completed form.

In fact, Barrett did a scientific study entitled, "The 'Committee of Sleep': A Study of Dream Incubation for Problem Solving." The title comes from a statement by John Steinbeck, " It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it."

This is how the study was set up:

Seventy-six college students (47 women, 29 men, ages 19-24) were asked to incubate their dreams. They were instructed to select a problem of personal relevance. They were asked to write out the problem in a simple fashion. Subjects followed this procedure nightly for one week. Two raters then judged all dreams in the week's journals. (Journal of the Association of the Study of Dreams, 1993, The "Committee of Sleep": A Study of Dreams Incubation for Problem Solving, pp. 115-123, p. 1)

Here is one example of a problem and its solution:

Problem: I have applied to two clinical psychology programs and two in industrial psychology because I just can't decide which field I want to go into. Dream: A map of the United States. I am in a plane flying over this map. The pilot says we are having engine trouble and need to land and we look for a safe place on the map indicated by a light. I ask about Massachusetts which we seem to be over right then and he says all of Massachusetts is very dangerous. The lights seem to be further west. Solution: I wake up and realize that my two clinical schools are both in Massachusetts where I have spent my whole life and where my parents live. Both industrial programs are far away, Texas and California. That was because originally I was looking to stay close to home and there were no good industrial programs nearby. I realize that there is a lot wrong with staying at home and that, funny as it sounds, getting away is probably more important than which kind of program I go to. (Committee, p. 4)

Here is another:

Problem: I'm trying to decide whether to be on the softball team again this spring. I love it, but practice does take time away from my studies. I could just go to watch the games this year and still see my friends from the team. Dream: I'm camping in an open place in a tent that doesn't come all the way to the ground. People are all around staring at me. I feel very uncomfortable and exposed: Solution: The dream reminded me of the phrase "a watcher rather than a doer" which has very negative connotations for me. I don't think I'd be happy with just going to the games. (Committee, p. 5)

Here is a summary of her study:

Subjects incubated dreams addressing problems chosen by the dreamer nightly for one week. Approximately half recalled a dream which they judged to be related to their problem; a majority of these believed their dream contained a solution. Problems of a personal nature were much more likely to be viewed as solved than ones of an academic or general objective nature. (Committee, p. 2)

(I recently experienced a problem-solving dream, and I invite you to read my account in my blog post immediately preceding this one, entitled, "Learning to Move Mountains by Saying to Myself, "Yes, and.")


Alice's experience in Wonderland and the study subjects' problem-solving dreams provide powerful analogies. Alice emerges from the rabbit hole confident, and the subjects solve problems in their sleeping dreams. Nevertheless, in both cases they are still left in the waking dream, i.e., Alice returns to the ongoing Garden Party, and the subjects return to their daily lives.

As Teachers of A Course in Miracles, we know that we are walking around in a waking dream of our own making. It's just a matter of remembering to ask for help to forgive the thought-images that make up the waking dream. These two sentences towards the end of the study lead me to think that, at some level, Dr. Deirde Barrett, is also aware that something else is going on.

Perhaps the "committee of sleep" may have workers outside of the dream state. This experiment occurred at a religious college and several of the responses indicated a firm conviction that the dreams came from God. (Committee, p. 7)

There is no perhaps about it. As Teachers of God we know that there is a worker outside of the dream state. Here is the analogy: Just as Alice's experiences in Wonderland prepare her to emerge from the rabbit hole with certainty and decisiveness and confidence, so can my waking dreams be used to enable me to be more certain that I am the Holy Son of God. That is why we often use the phrase, "Utilize, don't analyze."

We can learn to give our waking dreams over to the worker, the Holy Spirit, who translates our illusory dreams into truth. We can ask, we must ask, the Holy Spirit to be the mediator.

The Holy Spirit mediates between
illusions and the truth. Since He must bridge
the gap between reality and dreams,
perception leads to knowledge through the grace
that God has given Him, to be His gift to
everyone who turns to Him for truth.
Across the bridge that He provides are dreams
all carried to the truth, to be dispelled
before the light of knowledge. There are sights
and sounds forever laid aside. And where
they were perceived before, forgiveness has
made possible perception's tranquil end.
(W-p11.7. What is the Holy Spirit? 1)

If Alice were to become a Teacher of God, she would find that she may still find herself in the duality, i.e., asking herself whether to marry Hamish, or not; to stand up to her mother, or not; to tell her sister the truth, or not. However, she would learn that choosing this dream over that dream will not lead to truth. But asking the Holy Spirit for help to forgive these dreams, recognizing their unreality, can lead to the truth that she is a Holy Son of God, and that she is in the world, but not of the world, thereby learning to "Wear the world like a loose garment." (St, Francis)


The goal the Holy Spirit's teaching sets
is just this end of dreams. For sights and sounds
must be translated from the witnesses
of fear to those of love. And when this is
entirely accomplished, learning has
achieved the only goal it has in truth.
For learning, as the Holy Spirit guides
it to the outcome He perceives for it,
becomes the means to go beyond itself,
to be replaced by the eternal truth.
(7:2)

What is helpful for her, and for us, is that the phantasmagorical figures that appear in Wonderland, like the Mad Hatter, the Red Queen, and the White Queen, are, in fact, only slightly more exaggerated and distorted than the thought-images that we seem to see in our waking dreams, or what we consider the "outside" world.


"Phantasmagoria" is defined as: a shifting series of phantasms, illusions, or deceptive appearances, as in a dream or as crated by the imagination. It is a great reminder that Alice's dreams in Wonderland and those that we seem to see in our waking dream are really not different at all. For example, you could take your thought-image of your "worst" enemy and give him red, curly hair, a lot of eye make-up, and a hat, and he becomes only a slight exaggeration of your own image that you are projecting onto him. This is how we people our world.

In this manner, Alice could come to know the truth that what appears to be without comes entirely from what is within.

Your picture of the world can only mirror what is within. The source of neither light nor darkness can be found without. Grievances darken your mind, and you look out on a darkened world. Forgiveness lifts the darkness, reasserts your will, and lets you look upon a world of light. We have repeatedly emphasized that the barrier of grievances is easily passed, and cannot stand between you and your salvation. The reason is very simple. Do you really want to be in hell? Do you really want to weep and suffer and die? (W-p11.73.5)

Alice can learn moment to moment, that she can look outside, and if she is feeling pain, she can look inside and ask for help to forgive painful thoughts. Instead of saying "Nonsense" to the Queen, she can say "Nonsense" to her own grievances, her own thought-images, recognizing the illusory nature of what she pictured before. And when she experiences a moment of light, of clarity, she will see that light reflected in her world.

If you but knew how much your Father yearns
to have you recognize your sinlessness,
you would not let His Voice appeal in vain,
nor turn away from His replacement for
the fearful images and dreams you made.
The Holy Spirit understands the means
you made, by which you would attain what is
forever unattainable. And if
you offer them to Him, He will employ
the means you made for exile to restore
your mind to where it truly is at home.
(7:3)

So it all comes down to forgiveness, forgiving thoughts in your mind that have no source in reality, leading to knowing exactly who you are.

From knowledge, where He has been placed by God,
the Holy Spirit calls to you, to let
forgiveness rest upon your dreams, and be
restored to sanity and peace of mind.
Without forgiveness will your dreams remain
to terrify you. And the memory
of all your Father's Love will not return
to signify the end of dreams has come.
(7:4)

Accept your Father's gift. It is a Call
from Love to Love, that It be but Itself.
The Holy Spirit is His gift, by which
the quietness of Heaven is restored
to God's beloved Son.

For Alice, now, there is no way that she could possibly refuse to take on her function, and I can just hear her emphatic answer to this question that ends the passage:

Would you refuse to take the function of completing God, when all He wills is that you be complete? (7:5)

ALICE. "Nonsense!"

Learning to Move Mountains by Saying to Myself, "Yes, and."

Lately, because of some things that “appear” to be going on in my life, my trials and tribulations, I have found it necessary, in fact, absolutely essential, to rely more and more on A Course in Miracles, particularly, the lessons for each day, to remind myself, constantly, of the truth of who I am, so that the falsity of what I think I am can fade into the nothingness from whence it came.

It is not necessary to go into the content of the things going on in my life because the content changes from moment to moment; it is the form that needs attention. The form is always a thought-image that has no source in reality. When I let go of the thought-image, the content simply melts away, much like an ice cube sliding across a hot, flat grill; as the ice (form) melts, the water (content) evaporates into nothingness. The heat of the grill represents transformation. All that it required is the loving warmth of gratitude and the right belief and the constancy of trust and the certainty of forgiveness.

It is no surprise that, while constantly asking for help, I had this remarkable dream the other night.

I am on a mountain, and I am walking along a road leading to the bottom where I am supposed to attend a meeting. I go to the edge of the road, looking down the side of the mountain, and I decide to bound my way down. I simply jump and land softly, bending my knees, crouching and then springing up again, and leaping downward again. This was fun and easy and simply a delight.

Close to the bottom I come upon some beautiful Roman ruins, fallen marble columns lying in soft sand. I quickly walk through them, wondering how far it is to the bottom, and I come to a short, gently-inclined dirt path. At the bottom is a vertical board blocking the entrance to the road, and I easily break through it.

I woke up thinking that I had made my trials and tribulations into mountains, and I remembered a Biblical passage where Jesus says that you can move mountains.

And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Matthew 17:20

Firmly standing in the state of mind of the peace of God, I can forgive thoughts that have no source in reality; I can, literally, remove thought-images that seem as large as mountains. Blissfully bounding down a mountain is a demonstration of this.

This simply requires my belief that it is possible because it is only a mistaken belief that makes thoughts seem mountainous in the first place.

What keeps the world in chains but your beliefs?
And what can save the world except your Self?
Belief is powerful indeed. The thoughts
you hold are mighty, and illusions are
as strong in their effects as is the truth.
A madman thinks the world he sees is real,
and does not doubt it. Nor can he be swayed
by questioning his thoughts' effects. It is
but when their source is raised to question that
the hope of freedom comes to him at last.
W-p1.132.1

And, then, I remembered, once again, that trials are but opportunities for me to practice coming into the awareness of the truth of who I am.

Trials are but lessons that you failed to learn
presented once again, so where you made
a faulty choice before you now can make
a better one, and thus escape all pain
that what you chose before has brought to you.
In every difficulty, all distress,
and each perplexity Christ calls to you
and gently says, 'My brother, choose again'.
He would not leave one source of pain unhealed,
nor any image left to veil the truth.
He would remove all misery from you
whom God created altar unto joy.
He would not leave you comfortless, alone
in dreams of hell, but would release your mind
from everything that hides His face from you.
His holiness is yours because He is
the only Power that is real in you.
His strength is yours because He is the Self
That God created as His only Son.
T-31.Vlll.3

For me, practice is essential. Over the years, I have practiced in different ways, and right now, this is how I practice moving mountains, and it is as simple as ice sliding across a hot grill.

As often as I remember, I focus my awareness is on breathing in and breathing out, breathing in and breathing out.

For these moments, my awareness is not on my thought-images showing me a meaningless world. These thought-images have nothing to do with my True Self. In fact, my awareness of a particular thought-image is preventing me from experiencing my Self as God’s Son; thus, I am depriving myself of the awareness of His Love.

My preoccupation with a thought-image prevents me from being aware of the Thoughts of God.

God’s Voice speaks to me all through the day.
W-p1.49

Not my will, but Your Will. Not mine, but Thine.

Now, and I mean, in this moment of peace, I can say to myself when thought-images come into view, “Yes, and,” meaning let them arise “and” let them go. Let them melt away.

This practice enables me to shift from looking at the thought-images and saying “Yes, but.” It is a very subtle difference that the “but” enables me to, encourages me to, linger for too long on the thought-images that have no source in reality, thereby making them seem real. It is a very subtle difference that I use to keep me separate from God. The difference between “and” and “but” is as subtle as that “b,” but it is there.

Consciously, breathing in and breathing out and saying “Yes, and” enables me to do this.

Let go all the trivial things that churn and bubble on the surface of your mind, and reach down and below them to the Kingdom of Heaven. There is a place in you where there is perfect peace. There is a place in you where nothing is impossible. There is a place in you where the strength of God abides.
W-p1.47.7:3-6

Ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Robert Frost, "Nothing Gold Can Stay:" But Golden Inspiration is Eternal

Last week, I came across a book of Robert Frost poetry called Seasons. What is unique about this beautiful book is that Frost's poems are grouped according to the seasons and powerfully illustrated by exceptional photographs. For example, here is a Spring poem.

Nothing Gold Can Stay.

Nature's first green is gold
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

And here is the illustrative photograph.


This photograph provides a perfect context for understanding the meaning of the poem.

Nature's first green is gold
Her hardest hue to hold.

When you look at a tree, say, a Maple, during the day in late summer, the leaves are all totally green. However, on a clear day, the leaves, catching the early-morning light, are bright gold. But that hue won't last, as the sun moves on.

Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.

That early, golden leaf, briefly, looks like a flower.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,

Just as the golden sun moves on and gold leaves return to green, so was man tempted by the serpent to give up his golden innocence by eating of the apple of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, thereby causing his grief and expulsion from the Garden of Eden.

So he drove out the man;
and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims,
and a flaming sword which turned every way,
to keep the way of the tree of life.
Genesis. 3:24

So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

The analogy is tight: dawn and day, gold and green, innocence and grief.

At first, after reading the poem this time, I ask myself what is there about this poem that makes it last, that makes it valuable. After all, it is a grim reminder of the human condition; nothing in time and space will last, and by immersing ourselves in the illusion of time and space, we have expelled ourselves from eternity.

Then it occurred to me:

This poem, itself, is gold because it is an expression of Thoughts that come from out of time, that come from a part of our mind, the timeless Thoughts of God.

The poem lasts because it stems from the Tree of Life. The poet's inspiration, an artist's inspiration, comes from the awareness of God's Thoughts. "Inspire" comes from the Latin inspirare, meaning "to breathe in;" we breathe in the breath of God, spirit, the Holy Spirit, God's Voice, the Bridge between time and eternity.

It is quite possible to listen to God's Voice all through the day without interrupting your regular activities in any way. The part of your mind in which truth abides is in constant communication with God, whether you are aware of it or not. W-p1.49.1:1,2

There is not a moment in which His Voice fails to direct my thoughts, guide my actions and lead my feet. I am walking steadily towards truth. W-p1.60.(49).2:3,4

All true artists, whether they know it or not, create from a place of inner stillness. The mind then gives form to the creative impulse or insight.
Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now, (Namaste, 1999), p. 24

It is the human condition to be in the world, to be in time, to have thoughts of good and evil, without an awareness of a reference point out of time, the stillness of God, the peace of God. Adam and Eve walked out of Eden, paradise, eternity into time, and we are doing the same thing.

You have elected to be in time rather than eternity, and therefore believe you are in time. Yet your election is both free and alterable. You do not belong in time. Your place is only in eternity (Eden), where God Himself placed you forever.
T-5.VI.1:4-6

It is possible to be in the world, and not of the world, and although Frost did not use this terminology, he had an out of the world awareness that enabled him to tap into inspiriting thoughts. (OK, I meant to type "inspiring," but I typed "inspiriting," and I can't help but leave it. To be inspired means to breathe in the Voice of the Holy Spirit.) For this experience, Frost uses the word "delight," and I like to focus on the light in the word.

Here is Jesus:

When I said "I am come as a light into the world," I meant that I came to share the light with you. T-5.VI. 11:1

Frost expresses this in an essay entitled, The Figure a Poem Makes, his Introduction to his Collected Poetry.

A poem begins in delight, it inclines to the impulse, it assumes direction with the first line laid down, it runs a course of lucky events, and ends in a clarification of life. For me the initial delight is in the surprise of remembering something I didn't know I knew. I am in a place, in a situation, as if I had materialized from cloud or risen out of the ground.

I like to think that Frost is describing here what it feels like to be transported to a state of mind receptive to inspiration.

There is a glad recognition of the long lost and the rest follows. Step by step the wonder of unexpected supply keeps growing. The impressions most useful to my purpose seem always those I was unaware of. It must be a revelation, or a series of revelations.

That which is eternal is being revealed in his heightened awareness.

Like a piece of ice on a hot stove the poem must ride on its own melting. A poem may be worked over once it is in being, but may not be worried into being. Its most precious quality will remain its having run itself and carried away the poet with it. Read it a hundred times: it will forever keep its freshness as a petal keeps its fragrance. It can never lose its sense of a meaning that once unfolded by surprise as it went.

Touched by God, the golden innocence is always fresh and new.

Days come and God, and the gold of inspiration is eternal. (OK, I am going to leave it like that; I meant to type "go," but I am delighted to see that "God" is most appropriate.)

Only gold can stay.

The First 7 Lessons of A Course in Miracles: Emerging from our Immersion in Thought

It has been one week now since the beginning of the New Year, and I have been doing the early lessons of A Course in Miracles each morning, and they are brand new.

This morning an idea came floating into my mind, a phrase from the past, a Zen question, “Does a fish know water?” And my next thought was, “To what extent am I aware, moment-to-moment, of my total immersion in my thoughts making up this dream, this illusion, this mirage, surrounding me?” To what extent am I so familiar with this imaginary world that I am oblivious of floating in it? Preoccupied with form, I forget that I am formless; while submerged in the world, I forget that I am not of the world. It is always a matter of forgetting and remembering.

My habitual preoccupation with my immersion in thought is the reason Jesus begins His Workbook as He does:

Lesson 1, Nothing I see means anything.

Now look slowly around you, and practice applying this idea very specifically to whatever you see. (Paragraph 1: Line 1)

Sitting on my couch, looking around the room, I slow down and glance at objects, one at a time. But I find that I can hardly look at an object and move on because associations rapidly pour into my mind, instantaneously. . . the new bird feeder attached to the window, my son, Stephen, gave me that for Christmas. . .my coffee cup, containing French-pressed Italian Roast from World Market. . .the wood-burning stove, the Woodman delivers wood from northern Wisconsin.

Here I am practicing that none of these thoughts mean anything, and not for the first time, either, and yet I automatically bring associations to each object my eyes light upon, giving each object a particular meaning. Thus, in my immersion, Jesus offers a lifeline, a reminder, this truth, nothing, no thing, no object I see, no thoughts I think, means anything.

(At the end of this post, each of the 7 Lessons is printed in its entirely.)


Lesson 2, I have given everything I see all the meaning it has for me.

Oh, I see. Each object has a personal meaning, and another person looking at it would see only a meaning personal to him/her. Furthermore, the phrase, Oh, I see, reminds me that we associate seeing with understanding. The false connection between seeing/understanding is built into our language.

It is also obvious that when you and I look at something, some thing, we each see our own meaning, making true communication between us extremely difficult.

If possible, turn around and apply the idea to what was behind you. 1:5

Now, this gets me every time. Not only do I personally give meaning to every thing, every thing is not even there until I perceive it! I am walking around with this camera-head, making personally real only what I focus on, while all other objects disappear because they are not appearing in my camera lens, my eyes. . . what was behind you.

Merely glance easily and fairly quickly around you, trying to avoid selection by size, brightness, color, material, or relative importance to you. 2:1

When Jesus says relative importance to you, He reminds me of the associations I am making rapidly, automatically, habitually. Now I understand why Master Teacher often referred to us as “Associations,” and those of us at Endeavor Academy belong to an “Association.”

Lesson 3, I do not understand anything I see in this room.

Because I am in a constant state of mind of associating ideas with objects, it is impossible for me in this state to understand, or to see, any thing as it is.
Anything is suitable if you see it. 1:5

Here we go again. . .if you see it. The object is not even there until I see it, until my camera-eyes snap a picture of it. As far as the metaphor of a camera, would it only be so that my eyes were as objective as a camera.

Some of the things you see may have emotionally-charged meaning for you. 1:6

To this point, Jesus has only emphasized thoughts and understanding and associations, and now He brings in emotions and feelings. Jesus is methodically revealing to us exactly how our minds work. And once again, the teaching is not to resist, not to stifle these thoughts and feelings, but simply be aware of them and lay such feelings aside. 1:7

The point of the exercises is to help you clear your mind of all past associations, to see things exactly as they appear to you now, and to realize how little you really understand about them. 2:1

All I need do is clear my mind, and that is everything. Most likely, I was not even aware that my mind was cloudy in the first place. Probably, before this exercise, I had no reference point other than my total immersion in the world of thoughts and objects. And Jesus slips in now; now, this moment, is the only time there is. Being present with a clear mind is the only time there is. Now is not an interval between the past and present; it is a state of mind of clarity.

Lesson 4, These thoughts do not mean anything.

The only thing that could possibly cloud my mind is a thought. Because of the rapidity of thought, I am not aware of the nano-second of a clear mind before and after the cloud passes. Jesus asks us merely to note these thoughts, not associate with them. He tells us not to evaluate them as good or bad. Just be aware of each thought as it rises and falls, as it floats across our minds. We really cannot label them as good or bad, anyway.

This is why they do not mean anything. 1;7

These passing thoughts that we hold near and dear mean nothing. Thoughts are thoughts and real meaning is something else.

None of them represents your real thoughts, which are being covered up by
them. 2:3

Now Jesus makes a distinction between unreal and real thoughts. This is intriguing because I was not aware for my entire life of a layer of real thoughts covered over by thoughts that are unreal, meaningless.

Jesus uses the word train; He is training our minds to learn to separate the meaningless from the meaningful. In truth, we are full of meaning, although we have squandered a great deal of time on things with less, actually, no meaning. Jesus moves us from things that appear outside, to the thoughts we experience inside.

It is a first attempt in the long-range purpose of learning to see the meaningless as outside you, and the meaningful within. 3:3

When did I ever look at thoughts before. Prior to this time, thoughts were to me like water to a fish. Yet, Jesus cautions:

You are too inexperienced as yet to avoid a tendency to become pointlessly preoccupied. 5:4

There it is. I have a chance to become aware, but not pointlessly preoccupied with meaningless thoughts because I am being trained purposefully.

Lesson 5, I am never upset for the reason I think.

I'd like to think of myself as a reasonable person, i.e., I can connect the dots; I can move from facts to conclusions. I can certainly be reasonable about my upsets. I have a lot of practice connecting my upsets with persons, (Christine, my wife, did not do what I expected her to do.), situations (The squirrels are ruining my bird feeders.), and events (It is 5 degrees below 0 Fahrenheit, and my car won’t start.). I am reasonably upset.

Michael Brown, the author of The Presence Process, makes a great play on the word, “upset.” Here's an example in the training:

I am not angry at Christine for the reason I think. 2:3

Michael Brown calls these upsets, “set ups.” They are opportunities for us to come into the recognition that these thoughts do not mean anything, either about the event, or the feeling. Jesus gives us the opportunity to use these upsets as set ups by connecting the event with the feeling, realizing that they are both of our own making, based on thoughts that have no source in reality. In fact, this preoccupation is covering up, clouding over, our real thoughts. We can learn to use the set up to break through our "reasonable" connecting of the dots, connecting events and feelings.

Lesson, 6, I am upset because I see something that is not there.

Now I am learning that I am applying my reasonability improperly. I am not connecting the dots properly. There are no dots. My emotional reactions, and what I think is causing them are not connected. I have been set up, heavily invested in the premise that seeing is believing. Yet, Jesus brought that into question in is His very first Lesson, Nothing I see means anything. Here is the first exercise in Lesson 6;

I am angry at Christine because I see something that is not there. 1:4

Here is how Jesus concludes His Introduction to His Course:

Nothing real can be threatened.
Nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the peace of God.

Recognizing the difference between what is real and what is unreal will lead to my peace of mind, my clarity of mind, my experience of now.

Lesson 7, I see only the past.

In this Lesson, Jesus makes clear why we are simply associations, associative thinkers. I am simply incapable of looking at an object without seeing, or understanding , it in reference to my past experiences.

Here is a demonstration of how we see only the past.

Please glance at this sketch.

Now look at this picture.

What do you see? The chances are good that when you looked at the picture, you associated it with the sketch and saw a young woman. You may say, what else is there to see?

Please look at this sketch.

Now look back at the compossite picture. What did you see this time? You probably saw an old woman.

Our past thoughts predispose us to seeing what we are now looking at. Notice the rapidity of past thoughts and the impact they have on the present.

So, Happy New Year! I am so grateful to begin the New Year being reminded that all my thoughts about form mean nothing because all things in form are given current meaning by past references. This is a good beginning that will lead me to experience what is real and formless, and Herein lies the peace of God.

And now back to my beginning query: “Does a fish know water?” A fish cannot know water without a reference point different from water. I am rather amazed that while writing this post, an article appeared in the newspaper that announces that there is just such a fish. Paleontologists in Poland report finding the footprint of a tetrapod.

The water-dwelling ancestors of modern-day mammals, reptiles and birds, emerged onto land millions of years earlier than previously believed. A set of fossilized footprints show that the first tetrapods—a term applied to any four-footed animal with a spine—were treading upon ground 397 million years ago, well before scientists thought they existed.

This was a critical period in evolution when sea-based vertebrates took their first steps toward becoming dinosaurs, mammals, and—eventually—human beings, giving our fishy forebears an incentive to explore open land. (Emergence of 4-legged animals pushed back, Raphael G. Satter, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Section B, p. 3, January 9, 2020.)

A tetrapod leaving his footprint on dry land now knows water in reference to knowing land.

Now, this fish knows water!


Dear Reader, this may be a long way to go to explain the idea for us who are totally immersed in our meaningless thoughts to recognize with gratitude that Jesus in His Course in Miracles is guiding us to the experience of a reference point, a footprint, enabling us to stand on the firm ground of reality, the peace of God.

In Lesson 50, I am sustained by the Love of God, Jesus offers several phrases, expressing a place to stand, reference points enabling us to emerge from our immersion in thought, anchors to hold us steady.

. . .perfect peace and safety

The eternal calm of the Son of God.

The Love of God within you.

. . .a blanket of protection and surety the Kingdom of Heaven. Such is the resting place where your Father has placed you forever.

In summary, here is the analogy:

fish: water

man: thought

And:

fish: a tetrapod's footprint

man: The Love of God within you

In this New Year, as we continue to walk in the world of form, and not of the world, being formless, we need to be reminded constantly that we are God's Son, sustained by His Love. This reference point will strengthen us to remember when we forget, to help us remember, to help us emerge from our long immersion in thought.

Here is Lesson 50, I am sustained by the Love of God, in its entirety.

Here is the answer to every problem that will confront you, today and tomorrow and throughout time. In this world, you believe you are sustained by everything but God. Your faith is placed in the most trivial and insane symbols; pills, money, "protective" clothing, influence, prestige, being liked, knowing the "right" people, and an endless list of forms of nothingness that you endow with magical powers.

All these things are your replacements for the Love of God. All these things are cherished to ensure a body identification. They are songs of praise to the ego. Do not put your faith in the worthless. It will not sustain you.

Only the Love of God will protect you in all circumstances. It will lift you out of every trial, and raise you high above all the perceived dangers of this world into a climate of perfect peace and safety. It will transport you into a state of mind that nothing can threaten, nothing can disturb, and where nothing can intrude upon the eternal calm of the Son of God.

Put not your faith in illusions. They will fail you. Put all your faith in the Love of God within you; eternal, changeless and forever unfailing. This is the answer to whatever confronts you today. Through the Love of God within you, you can resolve all seeming difficulties without effort and in sure confidence. Tell yourself this often today. It is a declaration of release from the belief in idols. It is your acknowledgment of the truth about yourself.

For ten minutes, twice today, morning and evening, let the idea for today sink deep into your consciousness. Repeat it, think about it, let related thoughts come to help you recognize its truth, and allow peace to flow over you like a blanket of protection and surety. Let no idle and foolish thoughts enter to disturb the holy mind of the Son of God. Such is the Kingdom of Heaven. Such is the resting place where your Father has placed you forever.

Happy New Year!

* * *

Lesson 1, Nothing I see in this room [on this street, from this window, in this place] means anything.

Now look slowly around you, and practice applying this idea very specifically to whatever you see:

This table does not mean anything.

This chair does not mean anything.
This hand does not mean anything.
This foot does not mean anything.
This pen does not mean anything.

Then look farther away from your immediate area, and apply the idea to a wider range:

That door does not mean anything.
That body does not mean anything.
That lamp does not mean anything.
That sign does not mean anything.
That shadow does not mean anything.

Notice that these statements are not arranged in any order, and make no allowance for differences in the kinds of things to which they are applied. That is the purpose of the exercise. The statement should merely be applied to anything you see. As you practice the idea for the day, use it totally indiscriminately. Do not attempt to apply it to everything you see, for these exercises should not become ritualistic. Only be sure that nothing you see is specifically excluded. One thing is like another as far as the application of the idea is concerned.

Each of the first three lessons should not be done more than twice a day each, preferably morning and evening. Nor should they be attempted for more than a minute or so, unless that entails a sense of hurry. A comfortable sense of leisure is essential.

Lesson 2, I have given everything I see in this room [on this street, from this window, in this place] all the meaning that it has for me.

The exercises with this idea are the same as those for the first one. Begin with the things that are near you, and apply the idea to whatever your glance rests on. Then increase the range outward. Turn your head so that you include whatever is on either side. If possible, turn around and apply the idea to what was behind you. Remain as indiscriminate as possible in selecting subjects for its application, do not concentrate on anything in particular, and do not attempt to include everything you see in a given area, or you will introduce strain.

Merely glance easily and fairly quickly around you, trying to avoid selection by size, brightness, color, material, or relative importance to you. Take the subjects simply as you see them. Try to apply the exercise with equal ease to a body or a button, a fly or a floor, an arm or an apple. The sole criterion for applying the idea to anything is merely that your eyes have lighted on it. Make no attempt to include anything particular, but be sure that nothing is specifically excluded.

Lesson 3, I do not understand anything I see in this room [on this street, from this, window, in this place].

Apply this idea in the same way as the previous ones, without making distinctions of any kind. Whatever you see becomes a proper subject for applying the idea. Be sure that you do not question the suitability of anything for application of the idea. These are not exercises in judgment. Anything is suitable if you see it. Some of the things you see may have emotionally charged meaning for you. Try to lay such feelings aside, and merely use these things exactly as you would anything else.

The point of the exercises is to help you clear your mind of all past associations, to see things exactly as they appear to you now, and to realize how little you really understand about them. It is therefore essential that you keep a perfectly open mind, unhampered by judgment, in selecting the things to which the idea for the day is to be applied. For this purpose one thing is like another; equally suitable and therefore equally useful.

Lesson 4, These thoughts do not mean anything.

They are like the things I see in this room [on this street, from this window, in this place]. Unlike the preceding ones, these exercises do not begin with the idea for the day. In these practice periods, begin with noting the thoughts that are crossing your mind for about a minute. Then apply the idea to them. If you are already aware of unhappy thoughts, use them as subjects for the idea. Do not, however, select only the thoughts you think are "bad." You will find, if you train yourself to look at your thoughts, that they represent such a mixture that, in a sense, none of them can be called "good" or "bad." This is why they do not mean anything.

In selecting the subjects for the application of today's idea, the usual specificity is required. Do not be afraid to use "good" thoughts as well as "bad." None of them represents your real thoughts, which are being covered up by them. The "good" ones are but shadows of what lies beyond, and shadows make sight difficult. The "bad" ones are blocks to sight, and make seeing impossible. You do not want either.

This is a major exercise, and will be repeated from time to time in somewhat different form. The aim here is to train you in the first steps toward the goal of separating the meaningless from the meaningful. It is a first attempt in the long-range purpose of learning to see the meaningless as outside you, and the meaningful within. It is also the beginning of training your mind to recognize what is the same and what is different.

In using your thoughts for application of the idea for today, identify each thought by the central figure or event it contains; for example:

This thought about _______ does not mean anything. It is like the things I see in this room [on this street, and so on].

You can also use the idea for a particular thought that you recognize as harmful. This practice is useful, but is not a substitute for the more random procedures to be followed for the exercises. Do not, however, examine your mind for more than a minute or so. You are too inexperienced as yet to avoid a tendency to become pointlessly preoccupied.

Further, since these exercises are the first of their kind, you may find the suspension of judgment in connection with thoughts particularly difficult. Do not repeat these exercises more than three or four times during the day. We will return to them later.

Lesson 5, I am never upset for the reason I think.

This idea, like the preceding one, can be used with any person, situation or event you think is causing you pain. Apply it specifically to whatever you believe is the cause of your upset, using the description of the feeling in whatever term seems accurate to you. The upset may seem to be fear, worry, depression, anxiety, anger, hatred, jealousy or any number of forms, all of which will be perceived as different. This is not true. However, until you learn that form does not matter, each form becomes a proper subject for the exercises for the day. Applying the same idea to each of them separately is the first step in ultimately recognizing they are all the same.

When using the idea for today for a specific perceived cause of an upset in any form, use both the name of the form in which you see the upset, and the cause which you ascribe to it. For example:

I am not angry at ______ for the reason I think.
I am not afraid of ______ for the reason I think.

But again, this should not be substituted for practice periods in which you first search your mind for "sources" of upset in which you believe, and forms of upset which you think result.

In these exercises, more than in the preceding ones, you may find it hard to be indiscriminate, and to avoid giving greater weight to some subjects than to others. It might help to precede the exercises with the statement:

There are no small upsets. They are all equally disturbing to my peace of mind.

Then examine your mind for whatever is distressing you, regardless of how much or how little you think it is doing so.

You may also find yourself less willing to apply today's idea to some perceived sources of upset than to others. If this occurs, think first of this:

I cannot keep this form of upset and let the others go. For the purposes of these exercises, then, I will regard them all as the same.

Then search your mind for no more than a minute or so, and try to identify a number of different forms of upset that are disturbing you, regardless of the relative importance you may give them. Apply the idea for today to each of them, using the name of both the source of the upset as you perceive it, and of the feeling as you experience it. Further examples are:

I am not worried about ______ for the reason I think.
I am not depressed about ______ for the reason I think.

Three or four times during the day is enough.

Lesson 6, I am upset because I see something that is not there.

The exercises with this idea are very similar to the preceding ones. Again, it is necessary to name both the form of upset (anger, fear, worry, depression and so on) and the perceived source very specifically for any application of the idea. For example:

I am angry at ______ because I see something that is not there.
I am worried about ______ because I see something that is not there.

Today's idea is useful for application to anything that seems to upset you, and can profitably be used throughout the day for that purpose. However, the three or four practice periods which are required should be preceded by a minute or so of mind searching, as before, and the application of the idea to each upsetting thought uncovered in the search.

Again, if you resist applying the idea to some upsetting thoughts more than to others, remind yourself of the two cautions stated in the previous lesson:

There are no small upsets. They are all equally disturbing to my peace of mind.

And:

I cannot keep this form of upset and let the others go. For the purposes of these exercises, then, I will regard them all as the same.

Lesson 7, I see only the past.

This idea is particularly difficult to believe at first. Yet it is the rationale for all of the preceding ones.

It is the reason why nothing that you see means anything.
It is the reason why you have given everything you see all the meaning that it has for you.
It is the reason why you do not understand anything you see.
It is the reason why your thoughts do not mean anything, and why they are like the things you see.
It is the reason why you are never upset for the reason you think.
It is the reason why you are upset because you see something that is not there.

Old ideas about time are very difficult to change, because everything you believe is rooted in time, and depends on your not learning these new ideas about it. Yet that is precisely why you need new ideas about time. This first time idea is not really so strange as it may sound at first.

Look at a cup, for example. Do you see a cup, or are you merely reviewing your past experiences of picking up a cup, being thirsty, drinking from a cup, feeling the rim of a cup against your lips, having breakfast and so on? Are not your aesthetic reactions to the cup, too, based on past experiences? How else would you know whether or not this kind of cup will break if you drop it? 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. Acknowledge this by applying the idea for today indiscriminately to whatever catches your eye. For example:

I see only the past in this pencil.
I see only the past in this shoe. I see only the past in this hand.
I see only the past in that body.
I see only the past in that face.

Do not linger over any one thing in particular, but remember to omit nothing specifically. Glance briefly at each subject, and then move on to the next. Three or four practice periods, each to last a minute or so, will be enough.