By I wish to ask you about what A Course in Miracles means by Holy Relationship. In a single the main book it discusses “entering the ark” together, and it almost sounds as though you’ll need one other specific person in order to awaken. Therefore, I believe I approach each new person with the expectation that maybe THIS could possibly be the relationship that reflects enlightenment in my experience, and I to them! Am I taking this too literally? Or do you really need another to help you awaken?
I appreciate your time so much and thank you for the help in my experience and others. I thank you and I thank God for you. Namaste.
David Hoffmeister: Thanks for the openness and your willingness to appear deeply at what’s underneath these topics and issues. A Course in Miracles teaches that the split mind contains both the situation (the ego) and the Solution (the Holy Spirit). When they’re brought together, only One remains.
The human body and the planet are usually the focus of ego’s perspective, because of it seeks to create real problems and struggles on the planet and to prevent the inner Healing Correction of the Holy Spirit. The ego’s distorted world is the product of identity confusion a course in miracles teacher, an outpicturing of the belief that it is possible to create an identity which God did not create. The ego is this identity problem and it had been Answered or forgiven by the Holy Spirit the instant it appeared to arise. This 1 problem could possibly be described as an authority problem or a confusion in who’s mcdougal of Reality. The mind that believes in the truth of the time-space cosmos has a get a grip on issue, because of it believes that it can create itself. This ego mind also thinks it is in competition with God, although this really is pushed out of conscious awareness. This unconscious ego thought system is exposed in the A Course in Miracles Workbook lessons, and Lesson 13 contains an excellent example of this unveiling:
“A meaningless world engenders fear because I believe I am in competition with God.”
That is the start of training your head to forgive, for the focus is brought back to your head, back again to thinking, and taken away from the body and the world. Anorexia, weight issues, body image issues, and interpersonal relationship issues are samples of projection, of seeing the situation where it is not: in the world. The mind cannot tolerate the belief in a war with God, so this belief is pushed out of awareness. The deep-seated control issue such a belief entails is then projected to the body and the world. Weight control, like any attempt to manage the script or the body, is an endeavor to manage the past. The Holy Spirit teaches that the past can just only be forgiven or released or regarded as false—not fixed or controlled or changed.
The same ego dynamic is underneath interpersonal relationship struggles of power and control, of wanting to fix or change an individual or a self-image. Personal relationships might seem to sail happily along for awhile, the make-believe self-concept IS the private perspective and thus is obviously on shaky ground. Decisions are continuous. The Holy Spirit is just a decision. The ego is just a decision. Atonement is the decision that ends all decisions, an acceptance of the changelessness of Mind. The ego is the decision to think that your head may be separate from God. Once your head believed that it had separated and built this time-space world, this time-space world of bodies became its substitute identity, as it believed it’d discarded the Kingdom of Heaven. The planet was created up as an alternative identity. The sleeping mind is split on the decision of identity. The Holy Spirit says, “This world isn’t Identity. This world is definitely an illusion.” And thus the Holy Spirit reminds your head constantly, “This world isn’t your Home. This world isn’t your Identity. This world isn’t real.” Whilst the mind is split it is hearing another voice (the ego) that’s saying: “You’ve done it. You’ve separated from God. You’d better make the very best of it and find something of the planet to identify with. You are able to never return back for God will punish you.”
Thought-form associations seem becoming a substitute identity. The ego mind appears to be identified with the body, with family, with environments that appear to surround it (i.e., I’m an American, Japanese, I’m male, I’m female, I’m from a wealthy family, from a poor family, I’m Catholic, Jewish, Protestant, etc.) Most of these are thought-form associations. And these seeming other persons and places surrounding the small personal self are all part of this construction. The mind is quite shaky relating to this small identity, this small self, this little me. So the small me is shaky, and it looks like other persons give the small me reality and importance (i.e., you’re my son, my daughter, you’re my boss, you’re a loving father, etc.) and all different items that these images seem to be telling this little me seem to be really important. Praise thus seems essential (i.e., you’re an individual and you’re a good one!).
Praise and acceptance from others SEEM to stabilize this very shaky thing (i.e., you’re a great lover, you’re a great provider, you’re great with the youngsters, you have a fine intellect, you have such a heart, you help serve so many other folks, you’re a great team-player, on and on). This part of the self-concept says that you’re an individual and you have many of these positive attributes that actually allow you to a valuable and worthy person, that make you be noticeable above the crowd. You’re not just anyone—you’re somebody special. The flip side is criticism, which directly reflects the shaky sense of self. Criticism could be: you’re never as great as you believe you’re, you’re not such a good team player, such a good provider, so good in bed—all the things which are taken as insults to the private self-concept). That’s the flip side of the strokes. To the ego self-concept that believes both sides (the positive and negative) of thinking are real, the Holy Spirit is perceived as a great threat, for the Holy Spirit leads to the ability of forgiveness or the realization that none of the tiny images perceived as separate have any reality.
Once the criticism seems in the future, the ego attempts a substitution. It thinks, “I don’t need this. I’ll go elsewhere and start other relationships with people who can appreciate my talents and skills and abilities, appreciate my personhood. I’ll avoid those negative influences on the planet and those negative people. I’ll find someone else or join a group where individuals are like-minded and neglect the remaining portion of the world. These new people will require to me and stroke me and praise me.” The attempt at substitution is an endeavor to keep up a feeling of specialness, a feeling of separation, a feeling of individuality (a private mind with private thoughts). Those attempts are special love relationships. They appear to reinforce worth and value and to validate personhood. And they give you a false witness for clinging to the ego as identity. To the ego, past associations serve to provide personhood some sense of stability and consistency and value. Yet, the Holy Spirit shows that past associations offer nothing of value, for they certainly were created by the ego to deny the truth of God’s Love.
Holy relationship emphasizes and reflects Content (right-minded thinking) and has an awareness of the meaninglessness of form. Whilst the ego’s believed relationships will seem to be specific, yet each one will present a chance to release the belief in specifics. Divine Mind is Abstract and Universal. Forgiveness is the bridge to the remembrance of Christ and God, Divine Abstraction. Thus the Holy Spirit teaches in A Course in Miracles:
“Once you meet anyone, remember it is just a holy encounter. As you see him you might find yourself. As you treat him you will treat yourself. As you consider him you will consider yourself. Remember this, for in him you may find yourself or lose yourself. Whenever two Sons of God meet, they’re given another chance at salvation. Don’t leave anyone without giving salvation to him and receiving it yourself. For I am always there with you, in remembrance of you.