01.09.2007, 16:45
Liebe "alle",
Inge hat mich gebeten, diesen Text mit deutscher Übersetzung ins Netz zu stellen. Er stammt aus der FACIM Q&A-Seite (10/11/2006, Q#1023), der Autor ist vermutlich Kenneth Wapnick oder sein Team. Geht aus der Seite nicht hervor.
A particularly unworthy form of denial
Remember that the Course tells us "it is almost impossible to deny (the body's) existence in this world" and that to do so is "engaging in a particularly unworthy form of denial" (T.2.IV.3:10,11). It further lets us know that anything we see as real in this world "would persuade the holy Son of God he is a body, born in what must die, unable to escape its frailty, and bound by what it orders him to feel" (T.31.VIII.1:2). In other words, the Course recognizes we are in a great deal of pain and does not ask us to pretend that we are not. Quite the opposite, the Course asks us to look at our pain honestly.
We need to do this because we cannot pick and choose parts of our experience in which to believe. As long as we believe anything here is real -- for example, that we see someone when we look in the mirror each morning -- we have to admit that we think everything here is real. The very fact that we feel physical and psychological pain tells us how much we believe in the reality of our bodies and of this world. In truth, every time we take a breath, there is a little voice telling us that the Course is a hoax and God does not exist. If there were not, we would not need the Course and probably would not be here.
So, one benefit of difficult times is, by amplifying the fear and pain that we always carry, they can make us keenly aware of what we really believe and how much better off we would be if we believed something else. The question is: What should we believe and how do we get ourselves to believe it?
The Course does not claim to be the Voice of God. In fact, it tells us that "God does not know of separation" (P.2.VII.1:11). This means God could not possibly know about this world. Further, it states that, "the world was made as an attack on God" and to be "a place where God could enter not" (W.pII.3.2:4,5) .
So, the Course does not come from God. What it comes from is the memory of God's Love that Jesus embodied and that remains in each of our split minds. The Course is not the ultimate truth, nor the only truth. It is a tool, inspired by God's non-specific, all encompassing Love. Its sole purpose is to remind us of that Love. And we could not be reminded of it (and moved by the Course's teaching) if we did not already know it.
Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and God's Love: We need them, not in the world, but in our mind. Fortunately, that is exactly where they are. In other words, everything we need is already in our mind . This is why the Course makes statements like "You always choose between your weakness and the strength of Christ in you" (T.31.VIII.2:3) and tells us that "the Holy Spirit is in the part of your mind that always speaks for the right choice" (T.5.II.8:1,2).
The Holy Spirit cannot give you a burning bush because the Holy Spirit is not external to you. But a burning bush is not what any of us needs. What we need is a way out of our pain. And for that, all we have to do is be willing to say, "Maybe I am wrong" and ask Jesus or the Holy Spirit in our mind to hold our hand and simply watch our pain with us without judgment. In so doing, we will see that though pain can feel crushingly real; even in the midst of it, there is source of love, strength, and peace to which we can turn. That is all we need to believe. And what could be more comforting than that?
Inge hat mich gebeten, diesen Text mit deutscher Übersetzung ins Netz zu stellen. Er stammt aus der FACIM Q&A-Seite (10/11/2006, Q#1023), der Autor ist vermutlich Kenneth Wapnick oder sein Team. Geht aus der Seite nicht hervor.
A particularly unworthy form of denial
Remember that the Course tells us "it is almost impossible to deny (the body's) existence in this world" and that to do so is "engaging in a particularly unworthy form of denial" (T.2.IV.3:10,11). It further lets us know that anything we see as real in this world "would persuade the holy Son of God he is a body, born in what must die, unable to escape its frailty, and bound by what it orders him to feel" (T.31.VIII.1:2). In other words, the Course recognizes we are in a great deal of pain and does not ask us to pretend that we are not. Quite the opposite, the Course asks us to look at our pain honestly.
We need to do this because we cannot pick and choose parts of our experience in which to believe. As long as we believe anything here is real -- for example, that we see someone when we look in the mirror each morning -- we have to admit that we think everything here is real. The very fact that we feel physical and psychological pain tells us how much we believe in the reality of our bodies and of this world. In truth, every time we take a breath, there is a little voice telling us that the Course is a hoax and God does not exist. If there were not, we would not need the Course and probably would not be here.
So, one benefit of difficult times is, by amplifying the fear and pain that we always carry, they can make us keenly aware of what we really believe and how much better off we would be if we believed something else. The question is: What should we believe and how do we get ourselves to believe it?
The Course does not claim to be the Voice of God. In fact, it tells us that "God does not know of separation" (P.2.VII.1:11). This means God could not possibly know about this world. Further, it states that, "the world was made as an attack on God" and to be "a place where God could enter not" (W.pII.3.2:4,5) .
So, the Course does not come from God. What it comes from is the memory of God's Love that Jesus embodied and that remains in each of our split minds. The Course is not the ultimate truth, nor the only truth. It is a tool, inspired by God's non-specific, all encompassing Love. Its sole purpose is to remind us of that Love. And we could not be reminded of it (and moved by the Course's teaching) if we did not already know it.
Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and God's Love: We need them, not in the world, but in our mind. Fortunately, that is exactly where they are. In other words, everything we need is already in our mind . This is why the Course makes statements like "You always choose between your weakness and the strength of Christ in you" (T.31.VIII.2:3) and tells us that "the Holy Spirit is in the part of your mind that always speaks for the right choice" (T.5.II.8:1,2).
The Holy Spirit cannot give you a burning bush because the Holy Spirit is not external to you. But a burning bush is not what any of us needs. What we need is a way out of our pain. And for that, all we have to do is be willing to say, "Maybe I am wrong" and ask Jesus or the Holy Spirit in our mind to hold our hand and simply watch our pain with us without judgment. In so doing, we will see that though pain can feel crushingly real; even in the midst of it, there is source of love, strength, and peace to which we can turn. That is all we need to believe. And what could be more comforting than that?