26.02.2011, 17:10
Nachtrag zu Beitrag #18:
[From FACIM Q&A]
Q #235: By its very title, A Course in Miracles, Jesus is telling us that He will indeed intervene in this mad dream we're having. There is no problem that cannot be answered by a miracle, whether it be in finances, health or emotional turmoil, or anything in between. That is the whole reason Jesus took the time to come to us in this form. All the work we do to undo our ego identification results in the undoing of all our problems. Every problem is answered. Our Light shines away all the darkness. So to put this in a question form: why is not more emphasis put on the realization of one's happiness by following the Course?
A: Why not more emphasis on finding happiness through the Course, you ask? Because none of us wants the happiness that the Course offers us. We all want our definition of happiness, which means having our personal needs met, whether they be financial, health, emotional or whatever. But that is not what the Course offers. It is inviting us through the practice of forgiveness to let go of all our judgments and grievances until, at the end of the process, we also release our identification with this personal self that we believe has all these problems and needs. The happiness the Course holds out to us comes from awakening from the dream of pain which we call our lives here in the world, a dream in which there is no hope of real happiness. But we don’t want that. And so Jesus says he must first teach us the difference between joy and pain, between freedom and imprisonment (T.7.X; T.8.II.4,5). Otherwise we will continue to seek pain, believing it is joy, and strive to maintain our imprisonment, insisting it is freedom. We need a lot of help, but not with the "problems" of the world.
To answer your unstated question -- neither God nor Jesus intervenes in the world. Nor do they intervene in our minds. To intervene and fix problems at any level would be to make the error of separation real (T.26.VII.12). And the correction, which the Course calls the Atonement principle, says the separation never in reality happened. So it would make no sense for God or Jesus to intervene in our insane world. We made up all of our worldly problems so that we could cover over and not have to look at what we believe is the real problem -- the guilt in our mind over separating from God. The only help we need is with changing our minds about that guilt and, although we can’t do this on our own, Jesus tells us he can’t change our minds for us. He can only show us what we have made real and its consequences, in the world and in our minds, in the hope that we will recognize our insanity and be willing to make the same choice he has already made (T.2.VI.4; T.2.VII.1; T.3.IV.7; T.5.II.9,10,11:1; T.8.IV.4,5,6).
The thing is, none of us really minds being unhappy, so long as we don’t think we’re responsible for that unhappiness. We want a world and relationships with problems that victimize us so that we don’t have to see that our choice for separation and individuality is the real cause of all our pain. And until we can recognize and accept that fact, we will have no interest in the happiness that following the Course offers us. We will find real happiness by following Jesus’ teaching, but not because all of our problems in the world will be resolved as a result of his intercession. We have no problems in the world that need resolving. Yes, all the darkness will disappear in the light of who we are -- and that includes not only all of our problems in the world, but the world itself and the self we think we are within the world, as well as the guilt within our mind that is the source of all of our projections into a world of form. Because for most of us, that thought is fearful, Jesus assures us in many places in his Course that the path is a process and we will progress along it at our pace, as we are comfortable (e.g., T.16.VI.8:1,2,3). But at least now we can understand our resistance to practicing his teachings of forgiveness. As Jesus reminds us, "Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all of the barriers within yourself that you have built against it. It is not necessary to seek for what is true, but it is necessary to seek for what is false" (T.16.IV.6:1,2).
[From FACIM Q&A]
Q #235: By its very title, A Course in Miracles, Jesus is telling us that He will indeed intervene in this mad dream we're having. There is no problem that cannot be answered by a miracle, whether it be in finances, health or emotional turmoil, or anything in between. That is the whole reason Jesus took the time to come to us in this form. All the work we do to undo our ego identification results in the undoing of all our problems. Every problem is answered. Our Light shines away all the darkness. So to put this in a question form: why is not more emphasis put on the realization of one's happiness by following the Course?
A: Why not more emphasis on finding happiness through the Course, you ask? Because none of us wants the happiness that the Course offers us. We all want our definition of happiness, which means having our personal needs met, whether they be financial, health, emotional or whatever. But that is not what the Course offers. It is inviting us through the practice of forgiveness to let go of all our judgments and grievances until, at the end of the process, we also release our identification with this personal self that we believe has all these problems and needs. The happiness the Course holds out to us comes from awakening from the dream of pain which we call our lives here in the world, a dream in which there is no hope of real happiness. But we don’t want that. And so Jesus says he must first teach us the difference between joy and pain, between freedom and imprisonment (T.7.X; T.8.II.4,5). Otherwise we will continue to seek pain, believing it is joy, and strive to maintain our imprisonment, insisting it is freedom. We need a lot of help, but not with the "problems" of the world.
To answer your unstated question -- neither God nor Jesus intervenes in the world. Nor do they intervene in our minds. To intervene and fix problems at any level would be to make the error of separation real (T.26.VII.12). And the correction, which the Course calls the Atonement principle, says the separation never in reality happened. So it would make no sense for God or Jesus to intervene in our insane world. We made up all of our worldly problems so that we could cover over and not have to look at what we believe is the real problem -- the guilt in our mind over separating from God. The only help we need is with changing our minds about that guilt and, although we can’t do this on our own, Jesus tells us he can’t change our minds for us. He can only show us what we have made real and its consequences, in the world and in our minds, in the hope that we will recognize our insanity and be willing to make the same choice he has already made (T.2.VI.4; T.2.VII.1; T.3.IV.7; T.5.II.9,10,11:1; T.8.IV.4,5,6).
The thing is, none of us really minds being unhappy, so long as we don’t think we’re responsible for that unhappiness. We want a world and relationships with problems that victimize us so that we don’t have to see that our choice for separation and individuality is the real cause of all our pain. And until we can recognize and accept that fact, we will have no interest in the happiness that following the Course offers us. We will find real happiness by following Jesus’ teaching, but not because all of our problems in the world will be resolved as a result of his intercession. We have no problems in the world that need resolving. Yes, all the darkness will disappear in the light of who we are -- and that includes not only all of our problems in the world, but the world itself and the self we think we are within the world, as well as the guilt within our mind that is the source of all of our projections into a world of form. Because for most of us, that thought is fearful, Jesus assures us in many places in his Course that the path is a process and we will progress along it at our pace, as we are comfortable (e.g., T.16.VI.8:1,2,3). But at least now we can understand our resistance to practicing his teachings of forgiveness. As Jesus reminds us, "Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all of the barriers within yourself that you have built against it. It is not necessary to seek for what is true, but it is necessary to seek for what is false" (T.16.IV.6:1,2).
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"Vergiss diese Welt, vergiss diesen Kurs, und komm mit völlig leeren Händen zu deinem Gott."
"Vergiss diese Welt, vergiss diesen Kurs, und komm mit völlig leeren Händen zu deinem Gott."