ACIM Journal

[Anderz]

Here in Lesson 19 the collective ego is investigated further:

ACIM Lesson 19 - I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my thoughts.

1. The idea for today is obviously the reason why your seeing does not affect you alone. You will notice that at times the ideas related to thinking precede those related to perceiving, while at other times the order is reversed. The reason is that the order does not matter. Thinking and its results are really simultaneous, for cause and effect are never separate.

2. Today we are again emphasizing the fact that minds are joined. This is rarely a wholly welcome idea at first, since it seems to carry with it an enormous sense of responsibility, and may even be regarded as an “invasion of privacy.” Yet it is a fact that there are no private thoughts. Despite your initial resistance to this idea, you will yet understand that it must be true if salvation is possible at all. And salvation must be possible because it is the Will of God.

3. The minute or so of mind searching which today’s exercises re­quire is to be undertaken with eyes closed. The idea for today is to be repeated first, and then the mind should be carefully searched for the thoughts it contains at that time. As you con­sider each one, name it in terms of the central person or theme it contains, and holding it in your mind as you do so, say:

I am not alone in experiencing the effects of this thought about _____________.

4. The requirement of as much indiscriminateness as possible in selecting subjects for the practice periods should be quite familiar to you by now, and will no longer be repeated each day, although it will occasionally be included as a reminder. Do not forget, however, that random selection of subjects for all practice periods remains essential throughout. Lack of order in this connection will ultimately make the recognition of lack of order in miracles meaningful to you.

5. Apart from the “as needed” application of today’s idea, at least three practice periods are required, shortening the length of time involved, if necessary. Do not attempt more than four.

https://acim.org/workbook/lesson-19/

Key insight from Lesson 19: We are all trapped in the same worldwide ego construct.

Detailed explanation

The foundation of Lazy Yoga is quite simple. To take the Lego brick analogy again, there is the first order reality of information represented by the Lego bricks themselves and that which is built out of the bricks is the second order reality of the manifested objects in our reality.

Did atoms just happen to form precisely in such way that they are able to form molecules? And did molecules just happen to have precisely the properties which allow them to form living cells? And did cells just happen to be able to form multicellular organisms? Not likely a random coincidence this whole chain of perfect matching of building blocks in our universe.

Lazy Yoga states that the world we experience today is a limited second order expression, like a limited set of Lego bricks. That's why we don't generally see miracles in everyday life. We are trapped in a collective ego for the whole planet earth called the global ego. And our minds exist within the global ego so they are connected just as ACIM says.

Salvation is the realization that the first order reality is intelligent and much more capable than the mindless and mechanical physical reality we experience here on earth. And there is an automatic and constant intelligent pull from the future that causes second order forms to manifest in higher and higher forms of complexity. There may have been a natural evolution going on here on earth, especially with the discovery of epigenetics which allows a faster evolution than natural selection of random mutations alone. But even that kind of evolution, almost like Lamarckism, is a result of the second order limitation and not some "the best the universe can do" process.

The mind of the global ego is the collective construct of all of our individual ego minds. That explains why it feels to hard to transcend one's own ego. It's a big and worldwide trap.

Practical example

When we watch the news on mainstream television it's the global ego speaking to us basically. 

Personal consequences

Being trapped in, and a part of, the global ego makes me realize that salvation is for the whole planet, not just for my individual self. Some people may have transcended their egos already, such as spiritual teachers. And then it means that I don't have to wait for some massive collective awakening of humanity, although that will happen later, perhaps when we reach a critical mass of liberated people.

Global perspective

The global ego is very valuable and is like the caterpillar of the world. And transcending the global ego is like becoming a world butterfly. Or like a phoenix rising from the ashes of the global ego.

Integral change

What is valuable in the global ego will be preserved when we transcend into a higher stage of development as a planet.

[Anderz]

Lesson 20 mentions the salvation of the world depending on our thinking:

ACIM Lesson 20 - I am determined to see.

1. We have been quite casual about our practice periods thus far. There has been virtually no attempt to direct the time for under­taking them, minimal effort has been required, and not even ac­tive cooperation and interest have been asked. This approach has been intentional, and very carefully planned. We have not lost sight of the crucial importance of the reversal of your think­ing. The salvation of the world depends on it. Yet you will not see if you regard yourself as being coerced, and if you give in to resentment and opposition.

2. This is our first attempt to introduce structure. Do not miscon­strue it as an effort to exert force or pressure. You want salvation. You want to be happy. You want peace. You do not have them now, because your mind is totally undisciplined, and you cannot distinguish between joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain, love and fear. You are now learning how to tell them apart. And great indeed will be your reward.

3. Your decision to see is all that vision requires. What you want is yours. Do not mistake the little effort that is asked of you for an indication that our goal is of little worth. Can the salvation of the world be a trivial purpose? And can the world be saved if you are not? God has one Son, and he is the resurrection and the life. His will is done because all power is given him in Heaven and on earth. In your determination to see is vision given you.

4. The exercises for today consist in reminding yourself through­out the day that you want to see. Today’s idea also tacitly implies the recognition that you do not see now. Therefore, as you repeat the idea, you are stating that you are determined to change your present state for a better one, and one you really want.

5. Repeat today’s idea slowly and positively at least twice an hour today, attempting to do so every half hour. Do not be distressed if you forget to do so, but make a real effort to remember. The extra repetitions should be applied to any situation, person or event that upsets you. You can see them differently, and you will. What you desire you will see. Such is the real law of cause and effect as it operates in the world.

https://acim.org/workbook/lesson-20/

Key insight from Lesson 20: It's possible to experience the world differently than we do today.

Detailed explanation

Salvation is about breaking through the ego barrier into the full (or at least some of) the intelligence of the first order reality. Lesson 20 mentions a reversal of our thinking needed. Lazy Yoga recognizes that our thinking will be vastly affected, at least when we connect with the intelligent first order reality, so a reversal of thinking sounds valid.

We do not recognize true joy, peace and love simply because we are blocked by the ego (or as the ego) from accessing the intelligent reality. Christ as defined earlier is the truth and the way and the life, because Christ is the manifestation of the Word of God, which all of our reality is manifested from. In ego identification we have a mistaken view of the truth. Remember, Christ here represents all of manifested reality and applies to Christianity as well as all other major religions and even applies to atheism.

We cannot by ourselves break through our own ego identification, but we can start to recognize that it is possible and thereby become more prone to salvation.

Practical example

Everything we have experienced except for religious and spiritual scriptures etc has shown us a false view of reality. So our whole life essentially serves as an example of this.

Personal consequences

I will remind myself today that I want to see things differently, including my own thoughts.

Global perspective

Think of the world today as a modern Tower of Babel. Transhumanists want to achieve immortality with things like biotech and nanotech. Our technological progress is valuable and necessary, but it's a mistake to believe that our own progress as humanity is the only possible form of growth and development.

Integral change

Instead of completing our worldwide new "Tower of Babel" what will happen is that first order intelligence will start flowing into our lives as we transcend our egos.

[Anderz]

I will pause logging about ACIM until I can see the need for more posts like this. Because it will start getting too extreme and deviate too much from our practical everyday life today. For example, in a sane world to lock the door to one's home is insanity, and the fact that we do that today shows that we are trapped in a collective form of insanity caused by lack of integrity. In today's society it's insanity to NOT lock the door to one's home. That's just one example of how extreme it will get, and we already have texts such as ACIM and the Bible to deal with long-term situations like that. So me speculating about these extreme forms of scenarios will likely just mess things up and increase confusion.

That said, I'm very satisfied with my posts in this thread so far and think they make logical sense.

[Anderz]

Spiritual teachers who have read A Course in Miracles seem inclined to accept the possibility of a different form of reality.  Neale Donald Walsch writes in his Conversation With God books about highly evolved beings. Advaita nonduality teacher Roger Castillo, who has talked about ACIM, hasn't experienced a different reality yet but says he is open to the possibility. Eckhart Tolle, who is a fan of ACIM, writes in The Power of Now:

"Our collective human world is largely created through the level of consciousness we call mind. Even within the collective human world there are vast differences, many different "sub-worlds," depending on the perceivers or creators of their respective worlds. Since all worlds are interconnected, when collective human consciousness becomes transformed, nature and the animal kingdom will reflect that transformation. Hence the statement in the Bible that in the coming age "The lion shall lie down with the lamb." This points to the possibility of a completely different order of reality." - The Power of Now, chapter 9

[Anderz]

I came to think of a realization. As I understand it, ACIM says that all our thinking is distorted. A simple practice then is to mindfully reject all one's thoughts, not just observe them as in usual mindfulness practice.

[Anderz]

ACIM has a concept called "attack thoughts". My take is that ALL thoughts are attack thoughts. Some noisier than others and can be detected by the worry, irritation or anger which accompanies them. Other thoughts are subtler yet equally deadly and just sneakier.

[Anderz]

Oh! Most of the ego is in the subconscious. That's pretty obvious but I have overlooked that in the past. If I remember correctly, Bruce Lipton said that the subconscious mind a million times more powerful than the conscious mind!

That must be why I have been feeling anxiety, fear and almost depression despite being able to often observe my thoughts. And that's why ACIM is such a large book with pages and pages of text. Because the message needs to penetrate into the subconscious and that's a massive task.

[Anderz]

In this thread I have forgotten to mention that presidential candidate for the 2020 election Marianne Williamson has been hugely influence by ACIM. Here is what she has said about it according to Wikipedia:

"...A Course in Miracles [is] a self-study program in spiritual psychotherapy. It is a book that is based on universal spiritual themes. It is not a religion. It does not claim any kind of monopoly on truth. It has no dogma. It has no doctrine. It talks about love and forgiveness and I think that many of the people who are students of A Course in Miracles come from all religions and even no religion. The book says nothing about [Jesus]. The book does not get us to try to believe in God... The book tries to get us to believe in each other".[26]" - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marianne_Williamson

Williamson is at the moment not even in the list over the top 10 Democratic candidates, so it will require a miracle it seems to make her win. Nevertheless it's quite amazing having a presidential candidate so closely connected to ACIM. I hope she will win in 2020!

Another huge difference between today and the past is that decades ago when A Course in Miracles first was published there was no Word Wide Web and that's a huge difference in terms of potential for spreading knowledge without the need for big mainstream media and news sources.

 

[Anderz]

An integral approach to corruption can be useful, which means transcend and include. Yes, the corruption will erode itself out of business in the long run, yet as the situation is today, with massive corruption everywhere, it can be useful to catalyze the process of cleaning up corruption by pointing it out and even fighting it sometimes. Not necessarily fighting corruption from a position of anger because that often means we are confused about the issue and the anger is then a lazy habitual response that covers up our lack of a deeper understanding, Leo's video about corruption is an excellent example of how to point out its mechanics instead of just angrily attacking different forms of corruption.

[Anderz]

I now started wondering about what ACIM says about free will and I found this:

"36) Is there such a thing as free will, and what is it anyway? 

This question must be answered in two parts: 

1) In Heaven there can be no free will, for how can the Son of God be free to choose when there is literally nothing there to choose from? In a non-dualistic reality, which is the state of Heaven, there is only perfect Oneness. That is why A Course in Miracles states that the Will of God and the will of His Son are one and the same. And so there can be nothing else, and therefore nothing to choose between. 

...

 2) Within the dream, however, which is the realm of perception and illusion, the concept of free will becomes extremely important and meaningful for it is the mechanism of salvation. In his dream, the Son believed that he had chosen against God, and this set into motion the whole drama of the unholy trinity -- sin, guilt, and fear ..." - http://www.miraclestudies.net/Question36.html

I think that's a great answer so for me ACIM is consistent with my own self-bias which I believe is the truth. In a way there has to be self-bias until we realize the truth or falseness of ideas. At least if we want to stick to a single belief.

Another idea that came to me is that we cannot realize the truth of reality being automatic and determined in our ego identification for a part of the ego is the illusion of free will. And it wouldn't work to realize it too early because we would just feel powerless and that is a false realization. Instead the real realization of automatic reality will give a sense of personal freedom and of being a part of reality instead of something experienced as a separate entity.

[Anderz]

Wait a minute. The quote above is correct. There IS no actual choice! It's really obvious when looking at reality as a whole process. Is the person separate from that process? Absolutely not. Choice is therefore completely an illusion, a necessary illusion, as a part of the emulation of free will I mentioned earlier.

Another thing mentioned in the quote is the unholy trinity: sin, guilt and fear. All of those are illusions, I can see that now. The problem I have is that I don't experience the reality of it yet. Awful.  I'm like in a split state of identification where I see the truth intellectually and at the same time feel fear and anxiety. I know that a deep, deep change is needed into the subconscious, but still, it's a frustrating situation.

[Anderz]

Great I immediately found this video about precisely the problem I described in my previous post.

 

[Anderz]

I was curious about what ACIM says about the heart. I have a theory that our hearts are disconnected from our conscious awareness and that a connection to the energy field of the heart is necessary to connect to the higher intelligence of reality. And here I found in ACIM Lesson 164:

"There is a silence into which the world can not intrude. There is an ancient peace you carry in your heart and have not lost. There is a sense of holiness in you the thought of sin has never touched." - https://acim.org/workbook/lesson-164/

That's exactly in line with the idea I have about the heart. It's more than just a flowery metaphor. It's about an actual connection to a higher intelligence field via the field our own hearts.

[Anderz]

Ouch. Now I remember. I have actually already experienced heart consciousness recently. It was absolutely incredible. My consciousness expanded so that I experienced the external environment with a larger field of a combination of my brain and my heart. The experience lasted less than a minute, but it's something undeniable. My mind cannot make up something like that. Because it was an expansion of awareness, not of any mere mental experience. Holy Moses. How could I have forgotten that. Now I will really focus on mindfulness of the field of the heart (not just the biological heart but the energy field connected to consciousness).

[Anderz]

The introduction in A Course in Miracles sums it up:

"The course does not aim at teaching the meaning of love, for that is beyond what can be taught. It does aim, however, at removing the blocks to the awareness of love’s presence, which is your natural inheritance. The opposite of love is fear, but what is all-encompassing can have no opposite. This Course can therefore be summed up very simply in this way:

     Nothing real can be threatened.
     Nothing unreal exists.

Herein lies the peace of God." - https://acim.org/acim/what-it-says/

Leo said in a video that reality is difference. I think that even can be used as a description of God. And the difference gives rise to timeless, changeless and infinite information. Change appears as this information continues to become manifested in the now, moment by moment.

So how can changeless information be threatened? It can't! It's exactly as the introduction to ACIM says. And if this is correct, then we should sooner or later experience the truth of that and transcend fear. Because manifestation is not just some random information, it's highly intelligently structured information allowing reality to manifest higher and higher order, from atoms to molecules to single-celled organisms to multicellular organisms and so on. Biological evolution is a consequence of that, not the cause of it.

Reality is expanding wholeness in harmony, which I defined as love earlier. And even that is exactly what ACIM says, that fear is an illusion and that only love is real. I find that amazing and even though self-biased I can't see how reality works in any other way than that. One distinction, I don't know yet, is that my theory says that fear has a definite and temporary purpose for growth and development, while ACIM seems to describe fear as some form of error, but I could be wrong about that. I wouldn't be surprised if ACIM says the same thing even about that!

[Anderz]

I looked up what ACIM says about the physical body and found this:

"Perceiving the body as a separate entity cannot but foster illness, because it is not true." - https://acourseinmiraclesnow.com/course-miracles-chapter-8-vii-body-means-communication/

The physical body is a second order structure that Leo talked about. In my hypothesis the first order structure is information. And all information is manifested as a wholeness, so yes on the first order level the body and the external world are one and the same. That's potentially a very powerful realization! Because who knows what amazing healing capacity awakens when tapping into the intelligence of the first order level of reality. The ego is itself a second order structure so we experience only second order reality when we are in ego identification.

[Anderz]

Aha! Even our thoughts are of course also second order reality structures. ACIM says:

"2 There is no need to shrink from illusions, for they cannot be dangerous. 3 We are ready to look more closely at the ego's thought system because together we have the lamp that will dispel it, and since you realize you do not want it, you must be ready." - https://acourseinmiraclesnow.com/course-miracles-chapter-11-v-dynamics-ego/

ALL thoughts have a false foundation when we are in ego identification. There needs to be a change at the very source of the thinking process.

[Anderz]

ACIM talks about love vs fear. My theory is that fear causes numbness, not suffering directly. And the suffering is a response to the increasing numbness. Fear as Bruce Lipton has explained it causes cells in the body to wall themselves off and shut down, which when the fear is chronic causes a deterioration of biological tissue. That's the cause of aging!

And we have a lot of chronic fear, and the fear is constantly cultivated by the ego.  As I defined it earlier, fear is confusion turned into protection. Reality is never confused as a whole, and the ego confusion is therefore sin (an error, missing the mark).

Fear causes tensions in the body and mind which give rise to more confusion that the ego turns into fear, which in turn causes more tensions and more confusion and so on in a vicious circle.

Love is wholeness in harmony. What is needed for salvation a realization of the ego fear trap and allowing love to dissolve all that mess, suffering, numbness, confusion and tensions.

[Anderz]

A Course in Miracles seems to me to be about a complete shift in how we think, feel and experience the world. I believe it's about accessing the deeper intelligence of the universe which is blocked by our ego identification. Miracles are a tool for accessing the deeper intelligence. Leo has an excellent presentation about this universal intelligence in this video:

Except for Leo's concept of time his description of the deeper intelligence is accurate I think. (I think of time as only being in the present moment and time always flowing forward.)

[Anderz]

Is A Course in Miracle integral? No, at least not much. Then what about Spiral Dynamics value system Turquoise, does that include ACIM? No, because in vMeme Turquoise the idea of human suffering as inevitable is cemented into the belief system.

So what is needed is an integration of both ACIM and Spiral Dynamics stage Turquoise. Something that rips the whole fabric of our reality asunder yet at the same time preserves the valuable things in our civilization. A new earth, basically.