Here is a question that came from the “Ask Lorri” page of my
website, www.lorricoburn.com
Hi, Lorri - My question is about the world around me. Is it a
group illusion or is it completely something that I have made up? What I am
most concerned about is other people. I am fairly new to the Course, but not all the concepts it
teaches. Is the Course saying that
everything is in my head, including other people? For example did I make you
up? Did I make up my wife? Or, is ACIM simply saying my perception is falsely
colored by my illusory experience and I am not seeing others as they really
are? The rub I have is that if I am indeed making this all up I am doing a poor
job of it, yet at the same time am pretty creative as I have written every
screen play and painted every piece of art within the confines of my head. As
you can see, I am a little confused. Thanks!
Hi, Ryan, Thanks for writing. This is a great question, and
I can tell you have some background in metaphysical concepts.
You ask, “Is everything in my head and did I make you up and
did I make up my wife?” Yes. You are also making up the body/personality
construct called “Ryan,” with which you are temporarily identified. In the
Oneness, there are no bodies and there is no physical form at all. Once there
is form, there is two-ness, not oneness. There are two things, a subject and an
object. So in ultimate Truth, there is only Love/God/Oneness/Mind, whatever
label you want to give It.
Since Love/God/Oneness/Mind is All There Is, We are It. When
Jesus said in the Bible, “I and the Father are One,” this is what he meant. He
says it in A Course in Miracles more
directly and more often, because now we are ready to hear it. Two thousand
years ago they crucified him for telling the Truth, but now more and more of us
are awakening to our true Identity as the Christ.
The Workbook lessons of the Course train your mind to accept this Identity. There are a number
of them that speak directly to this, and most speak indirectly of it. For
example, Lesson 191: I am the Holy Son of God Himself; Lesson 252: The Son of
God is my Identity; Lesson 96: Salvation Comes from my One Self; and I Am as
God Created Me, which is Lessons 94, 110, and 162. It is the only Workbook
lesson that is repeated. It then is repeated in the reviews, so it is mentioned
144 times in the Course. “I Am as God Created Me” means you are the Christ. You
are the Self, capital “S.”
Your identity as Ryan is a false projection from the mind.
You are the Mind of God, but have chosen to project the idea of yourself into
an illusory world and an illusory body. There is nothing outside of your Mind.
When you do the Workbook lessons, and when you forgive every single thing, this
Truth starts dawning on you. At first you get glimpses, then it becomes more
consistent, until finally your True Identity becomes a permanent state in your
awareness.
Your other question: Is ACIM simply saying my perception is
falsely colored by my illusory experience and I am not seeing others as they
really are?
ACIM is saying there is no world, period. This is the
central thought the course attempts to teach. (Lesson 132). However, this is
quite scary to the ego, so until our minds are ready to accept this we are led
gently down the path of the right-minded perception of the world. This
perception shows a world forgiven, innocent and illusory. We are aware that we
are dreaming it all up. In this awareness, we see beyond bodies to the one Christ
Self in each of us. There is one ego dream, and one Christ Self. The Course trains us to see all the apparent
fragments as One. If you see someone as a body, you are not seeing him as he
truly is. He is the Christ. In Lesson 158 we are told that Christ vision has
one law—it sees no one as a body.
The idea that your perception is falsely colored by your
illusory experience is partially correct, but A Course in Miracles takes that concept all the way. Not one single
thing in form is true. There is no ego thought system. That is just a concept
to help us understand. There is no dream. That is another concept. There is no
individual self. Again, the only thing that’s real is God/Love/Mind/Oneness.
However, this is not death or nihilism, as the ego would
define it. When we let go of the individual self, we move into a Love so grand
and beautiful that we can’t describe it here. We are giving up nothing (the
small self) for everything. We are not losing anything. You, your wife, and all
your loved ones are thoughts in the Mind of God. They are thoughts of Love, and
they are never lost. You are never lost. You are eternal Spirit, forever
connected to the All.
It’s as if there’s a big pie, and the small self is one
piece. You are exchanging your single piece for the whole pie.
Your other question: Is it a group illusion?
Yes. There is one ego thought system as a whole. The ego
does a poor job of everything. You personally are not making up the ego script,
as that was a false idea that made up the dream world. It was over long ago,
but in reality never happened. Part of the ego script is a dream figure called
Ryan. If Ryan stays blind and doesn’t choose love or the Holy Spirit, Ryan is a
robot. He is a puppet in the dream. Once Ryan asks for a new perception, asks
the Holy Spirit to replace fear with love, Ryan is free. This is where Ryan
slowly gains an understanding that he is the Christ, not a body.
Your responsibility is to choose Truth, to choose the Holy
Spirit over the ego, or to choose love over fear. Only you can do this, and
each seeming individual person has to do this for himself. Once he chooses
rightly, he sees there never was a choice, because his mind has returned to
choiceless Oneness. But until that time, it appears there is a choice, and it
is one that has to be made if we are
to awaken. We will not awaken if we try to make the world of form real, while
simply saying bodies are unreal. Many people want to make the cosmos real,
while stating we are spiritual beings within the universe. The Course tells us we are spiritual beings
that are home with God, not in a universe of form. Part of awakening is
realizing you’re not here. You are not in time and space because time and space
are the ego thought system.
The Course says
it’s all or nothing. You cannot keep one piece of it falsely, because you see
either Truth or illusion. The two thought systems are completely incompatible.
If you’re holding onto any bit of illusion, you’re in ego.
There is one answer to the ego’s thought system, which is
the Holy Spirit’s right-minded perception, which is that the entire ego/world
of form is unreal. The One Son of God appeared to fragment into billions of
sons. There is only One Son, therefore it is a group illusion. At the same
time, your particular identity as Ryan has to make the choice to return to your
True Identity. As you become aware that you are not separate from anyone or
anything, you will see that every person/thing is yourself. Lesson 60, which is a review of Lesson 48, “There is
nothing to Fear,” states, “How safe the world will look to me when I can see
it. It will not look anything like what I imagine I see now. Everyone and
everything will lean toward me to bless me. I will recognize in everyone my
dearest Friend.” Note that this verse says, “when I can see it.” We do not see
truly with the body’s eyes. The body can only see other bodies and the world of
illusion. Christ vision, which is outside time and space, sees Oneness.
“Friend” is capitalized because it refers to the one Christ Self. When you wake
up, you will see that everyone and everything is the Christ/God/Love/Mind. There
is nothing else. When you see this, you will stop attacking and judging “other
people,” because there are no other
people. It is a beautiful experience.
Everyone needs to ask the Holy Spirit for his own guidance.
There are many different teachers of the Course,
and there are different interpretations. For you, the perfect one is your own
inner voice. What outside teachers say needs to be weighed against your inner
guidance. A Course in Miracles tells
us the curriculum is highly individualized, so the specific teachings and tools
you need to get back home will be provided for you. In that light, take what I
say if it works for you, or leave it if it doesn’t.
I hope this helps. You may need to read and re-read it.
That’s what I did with the teachings I received from David Hoffmeister, www.teacherofteachers.net. I got
confused often, then the light came on.
Let me know if you need further clarification.
Blessings,
Lorri
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