What can be done? In form you may want to vote differently or not. Is your reasoning re guns because they are coming too close to you? Was this shooter or any other in your town, near you or your family of friends? When do we tend to take action? When do we care about all of our brothers?? Am I aware of what is happening in every single area in this world? Or is that seemingly not about me??
Obviously there is a lot we can question. In form there are things one can do to attempt to increase gun control.
There are many groups you can get involved in in form and there is much to look at on the level of mind. What is the purpose of guns?
Safety????? Protection? Vengeance? Control?/Power? To steal from another? To save another? The list goes on and on.....
Here are some Q & A s from that may help one look at the issue regrading form/magic: to do or not to do about gun related incidents/guns themselves.....and looking on the level of mind/content. For ACIM it is never about the form, but rather the content in the mind. We begin by looking at our judgements about form. What I accuse _______of, I 1st accused myself of the same (in content).
Happy Reading,
Marcy
Q #1237:?I know that I must be lost in level confusion, but terrorism has been on my mind. As did Hitler, they target some people but also kill their own. Regardless of whether they are a projection of our collective mind, I do think that they must be purged in the same way that all fascists must. I read about how monks and other devout groups prayed for the peace during the holocaust, but peace (relative though it was) came only with war. Of course, this is causing my already split mind to separate like orange sections.
A:?Your?perception?of terrorists is the critical factor in resolving your dilemma; and as the Course teaches, perception can be either right-minded or wrong-minded -- the same behavior (form) can flow from either the right mind or the wrong mind (the content). From what you say, you apparently perceive terrorists and fascists as victimizers, which means you have chosen the ego as your teacher. The ego never lets us in on this, but perpetual conflict, not enduring peace, is the inevitable outcome of its thought system, because it rests on the divisive principles of?one or the other, kill or be killed.?There must always be an external enemy of some kind for the ego itself to survive, and we are thus lured into thinking that if we can just get this person or this group out of our lives, everything will be better. But as you have observed, the peace that follows war is partial and never lasts. This will always be the case until we turn inward and see the insanity of this thought system, and then reconsider our choice for the ego as our teacher. This is where?A Course in Miracles?is most helpful, as its focus is on training us to make the connection between our experience and the thought system we have identified with in our minds. This is why Jesus tells us,?“Therefore, seek not to change the world, but choose to change your mind about the world” (T.21.in.1:7).
The insane belief system in our minds that claims peace can be attained through war and that we can stop hostility and hatred by killing people is the problem. The “other way” presented in the Course rests on the premise that we are all one as God's Son, and that there are no exceptions to this. Terrorists and fascists are part of the Sonship the same as everyone else, and therefore to condemn them in our minds is to condemn ourselves, and Jesus as well. If this vision is your point of departure, you are giving yourself a better chance of ending the conflict and pain in your own mind, for you would be proceeding on the basis of truth, not its denial. Then you would approach problems differently. Your response would be motivated by a sincere desire to heal, rather than a desire to eradicate the evildoers in the world, whom you see as the cause of unrest and fear. You would not deny the ego in anyone, but you would see it as the same ego in you (in content, not necessarily in form), and you would realize that violent, hateful behavior is coming from a mind that is itself tortured with pain and conflict that seems unbearable and therefore must be projected.
From this place of compassion in your mind, you would thus be a channel for true justice, which does not see winners and losers, victims and victimizers, but rather, from a larger perspective, what is best for everyone:?“Be certain any answer to a problem the Holy Spirit solves will always be one in which no one loses. And this must be true, because He asks no sacrifice of anyone. An answer which demands the slightest loss to anyone has not resolved the problem, but has added to it and made it greater, harder to resolve and more unfair. . . . The principle that justice means no one can lose is crucial to this course” (T.25.IX.3:1,2,3; 5:4).?That is what Jesus means by returning justice to love.
The last four sections in Chapter 25 help us understand the basis of the world's notion of vengeful justice, in contrast to Heaven's justice, which is rooted in all-inclusive love and compassion?(T.25.VI, VII, VIII, IX).?Lesson 200,?“There is no peace except the peace of God” (W.pI.200),?is also important for understanding the major differences between the peace we seek in the world and the peace we find within our minds -- our natural inheritance as God's Son.?“For peace is union, if it be of God” (W.pI.200.11:6).?These issues are the subject, as well, of our four tape sets, “The Compassion of the Miracle,” “The Quality of Mercy,” “The Problem of Evil,” and “Justice Returned to Love.” We also direct you to the Interactive index of all topics on this Service, where you will find additional questions and answers under the listing, War.
Q #53:?Does being active in political and social programs inappropriately reinforce the dream from which we are trying to awaken? Should one work solely on the self? Isn’t that the best way to address the world’s ill?
A:?First, the Course is exclusively about the healing of our minds, because that is where our one and only problem and its solution reside: our decision to be separate, and our capacity to undo that choice."Forget not that the healing of God’s Son is all this world is for" (T.24.VI.4:1). On one level, therefore, we can help the world most effectively by undoing the guilt in our minds, because the projection of this guilt is what made the world and all its problems, and what sustains it as well. The world, thus, is but an idea in our minds and has never left its source in our minds. If we could identify with this totally and then undo the guilt, the world would disappear back into the nothingness from which it came, and we would be back home in God. Then?"nothing you remember now will you remember" (T.19.VI.6:6).However, because we have not fully integrated this principle, our experience is that there is a world and we are influenced by it in many ways. It is a highly significant part of our dream and of our script. Therefore, on this level we cannot ignore it or be indifferent or passive about what takes place in the world, just as ignoring or denying bodily conditions is an?"unworthy form of denial" (T.2.IV.3:11).?Two principles that can guide us on this level are (1) there is no hierarchy of illusions, and (2) purpose is everything. Thus, being politically or socially active is no different than performing surgery, competing in sports, or eating and breathing in order to stay alive. In this sense, we cannot say that one reinforces the dream more than another. They are neutral once we identify with bodily existence. It is only when we consider?purpose?that we can begin to evaluate the helpfulness of what we do for our Atonement path. Being involved in political or social movements, or just stopping to help a person injured in an accident, can either reinforce the separation or undo it, depending on whether we have chosen the ego or Jesus as our teacher. It is not the behavior, in other words, that helps or hinders our spiritual advancement. The pivotal issue is whether we have chosen in our minds to see our interests as separate or the same as another person’s.
None of this should be taken to mean that one?must?be involved in political or social programs. It is entirely a matter of how one is guided. It is neither inherently wrong-minded nor right-minded to be active in the world. We just need to be vigilant about using Course principles to justify aloofness or indifference. It is indeed a fine line to walk and requires considerable experience and maturity to both integrate the teachings of the Course and yet do what normal and compassionate people do who are citizens of a country.
Q #567:?Is it possible to be in a sales position and still be a teacher of God? It seems that sales positions are all based around manipulation and selling techniques. I am kind of stuck in that I feel that the only way that I can begin to make some money is to get a job with commission. What would you advise?
A:?Purpose is everything! If the?content?in your mind is that your position in sales is a classroom in which you can be guided by Jesus or the Holy Spirit to undo the separation, there will be no conflict. You will then do whatever competent sales people do, but for a different purpose -- not to intentionally manipulate others to get what you want, which could only result in guilt and conflict. Your purpose, as you carry out your responsibilities conscientiously, would be to recognize more and more that the only aspect of value in your interaction with your customer is your learning that you both share the same interests: you both have a split mind and a decision maker that can choose to follow either the ego’s thought system of separation or the Holy Spirit’s thought system of forgiveness. That is the content; and that is what makes you a teacher of God, not the form (the role), as Jesus states in?A Course in Miracles:?"A teacher of God is anyone who chooses to be one. His qualifications consist solely in this; somehow, somewhere he has made a deliberate choice in which he did not see his interests as apart from someone else’s" (M.1.1:1,2). The Holy Spirit can use anything we made to harm (everything in the world!) to heal our minds of their mistaken belief in sin, guilt, and fear?(T.25.VI.4,5,6).Other students have had similar concerns about other roles: see for example Questions #3, #179, #195, #284, and #560
Q #1207:?When setting goals that are crucial to my own well-being and future as well as to my family, I feel guilty -- thinking that as a Course student I am doing something wrong by setting "worldly" goals when I should simply have the one goal of looking with Jesus at my ego. How can one sensibly integrate having goals and be a serious student of the Course, without the ego coming in and making a mess?
A:?A Course in Miracles?is not opposed to setting goals or anything else we do in this world. Jesus lets us know this through statements such as,?"All things you made have use to Him?[the Holy Spirit]?, for His most holy purpose" (T.14.VI.5:3).?In other words, Jesus wants us to keep doing all the things that bodies normally do, but to allow the Holy Spirit in our mind to change the purpose. This is why he tells us,?"'What for?' …is the question that?you?must learn to ask in connection with everything" (T.4.V.6:7.8).
Basically, from Jesus' perspective, whether we spend our days attempting to achieve ambitious goals, watching TV, or sitting in silence on a mountain is irrelevant. It is with which internal teacher we do these things that matters to him. It is true that from the ego's perspective, everything we do or achieve here represents our triumph over God. And if you set goals with the ego, then undoubtedly you will find yourself trying to get your needs met at someone else's expense -- and feeling guilty as a result. But if you set goals (and try to achieve them) with the Holy Spirit as your Guide, each worldly goal can serve to help you remember the one true need we all share -- the need to realize that God's Love still exists and it is safe to awaken from this dream. If your overarching goal is to remember this one shared purpose, then there will be no cause for guilt over all the other things you do. ?
One final note: As a?serious?student of the Course, you should always begin with the premise that the ego?will?come in and make a mess, but that this phenomenon is not serious. The messes the ego creates simply show us that we became afraid of God's Love and ran to the ego for protection. As soon as we realize we have done this, we can once again drop the ego's hand and take the Holy Spirit's. And then the mess will look like a simple pile of silliness that the love in our mind can easily show us how to clean up.
Q #1064:?There is a lot of media coverage about alleviating world poverty. Also many people seem to be on a mission to change this world. Dr. Wapnick often points out in his tapes and text that this is a mistake, as we can't change the world. Whilst I know that this is true on the level of truth, when I pray about it and ask Jesus what to make of it, I find myself reading parts of the text like "For They Have Come" and I get the impression that Jesus is ecstatic about it (collaboration). Jesus didn't?not?heal the sick or raise the dead just because sickness and death are part of the illusion (and I like to think he did do these things). On a practical level, I'd like to think if I were starving to death, someone was desperate to help me. Has this got something to do with true empathy? I almost feel guilty writing this, as I know people die of poverty as we speak.
A:?Let's begin by clarifying what you think you heard Dr. Wapnick say, and what the Course is saying, about changing the world. It's not that we can't change the world -- at this level people do it all the time. The point is, the world is not the real problem and to focus on it is to attempt to change effects rather than getting to the root cause of our unhappiness, which is in the mind?(T.21.in.1)?. The world, from the perspective of the Course, is nothing more than a projection of the thought of separation in the mind and, in the end, we will come to realize that neither of them is real. To seek to change the world outside is to avoid solving the real problem within.
This kind of admonition is directed to students of the Course and has meaning only from the perspective of the Course's metaphysical principles. For someone who resonates to a different spiritual path, it most likely will make little or no sense. And so it would certainly be a mistake to use the Course's teachings to judge others who are seeking to bring about what they perceive as meaningful change in the world, such as alleviating suffering. We simply have no way of knowing what will be most helpful for others on their Atonement paths.
It's important to understand that the Course is never speaking about behavior, but only about the thoughts in the mind and, in particular, what purpose those thoughts are giving to whatever we seem to find ourselves doing in the world. The Course would never say don't help others in need, or don't try to eliminate world hunger, for example. But it would say pay attention to whatever thoughts are behind your actions. And if, for example, you are seeing the poor and the helpless at the mercy of unscrupulous governments and corporations or impersonal forces of nature, you are reinforcing your belief in victims and victimizers, as well as in differences, separation and loss. And that kind of false empathy, which makes distinctions between the innocent and the guilty, truly helps no one for it denies the power of each mind to have chosen its external circumstances as a way to protect its decision for individuality and specialness, and therefore to make a different choice for healing and wholeness?(T.16.I.1,2)?. And this is what we all continue to do until we are at last willing to ask for another way, which has nothing to do with changing the world and everything to do with changing our own mind.
Following up on this third point, it is a misunderstanding of Jesus' meaning in?“For They Have Come” (T.26.IX)?to interpret it as if he were speaking about what bodies do with each other. He is referring to a change in perception, which happens in the mind, which may or may not then be expressed in actions. Yes, he does speak of how?“no one on earth but offers thanks to one who has restored his home, and sheltered him from bitter winter and the freezing cold” (T.26.IX.7:3)?, but only to make the point of how much more grateful we will be to have our true Home restored to us.As for whether Jesus performed the miracles reported in the gospels, it is important to remember that the gospel writers, whom many biblical scholars believe were not eyewitnesses to his life, were writing their accounts to demonstrate that Jesus was special, different from everyone else, divine. If persons experienced healings in the presence of Jesus' love, it seems very unlikely that it would have happened in the magical ways described in the gospel stories. Rather, being reminded of the love that was within them, they would have released the guilt in their minds and no longer have needed to maintain its projection in the form of their symptoms?(M.5.II.2)?.
Jesus' compassion was not for the suffering and crippled bodies the eyes see, but for the suffering and crippled minds that were choosing to believe that illness and pain were somehow necessary for salvation. That those who witnessed his compassion two thousands years ago misunderstood his message and interpreted it in terms of expressing care and concern for those less fortunate than oneself -- reinforcing a belief in real differences and separation -- is not surprising. For just look at how Jesus' students today continue to misunderstand his message in the Course, even though it is presented in much more direct and unambiguous language.
Q #52:?Is it wrong to feel guilty about tragic world events, such as starvation in Africa, etc.? Often, when I see situations of people suffering in poorer countries, I feel guilty and think, "Look at the easy life I have. I really have nothing to complain about." Is my guilt in this situation really just an attempt to retain a sense of specialness and separateness?
A:?Guilt and blame are never justified, according to the Course. But the guilt you are feeling more than likely is coming from a deeper source than you mention, and can be undone only on that level. All of us would feel a deep sense of guilt simply because we are here. Our existence in this world is at God’s expense, so the ego has convinced us. We in essence stole God’s creative power and conferred it on ourselves so that we could direct our own lives in a world that could give us the specialness and individuality that was not available in Heaven. The guilt associated with our existence here is enormous as a result, and is deliberately kept out of awareness through denial and projection.
This dynamic of projection requires that there be a world in which terrible things happen, so that we can perceive both victims and victimizers outside us, rather than in the bloody battlefield in our minds, where we are terrified that God will come storming after us and destroy us for our abominable attack on Him. So there is a second tier of guilt in our minds that comes from our?wanting?there to be suffering in the world to keep our defense of projection working, which in turn maintains this system of existence outside Heaven and God.
Even though the ego assured us that we would be free of guilt by projecting both ourselves and our guilt from the mind, we wind up feeling guilty as bodies in a world of bodies anyway. We feel guilty when we are doing well because deep within our minds we know we got it all illegitimately. And we feel guilty when we see others not doing so well, because on an unconscious level we feel responsible for their suffering and poverty. It reminds us of our complicity in a plan to have a world of affliction and unsolvable problems so that we would never remember that the only problem is that we made the wrong decision in our minds, and that we can simply go back to our minds, guided by Jesus or the Holy Spirit, and now make the right decision.
Finally, we have to be wary of our tendency to interpret events by?form?only. In other words, the external form cannot tell us what is going on in a person’s Atonement path, the?content. Perhaps suffering or poverty is the classroom that that mind is using to learn that the body is not our true reality. We don’t know that, so we should be cautious about judging what appear to be unfortunate situations. We really cannot see the larger picture. We also need to remember that one of the central principles of the Course is that there is no hierarchy of illusions. The bottom line is that kindness and gentleness to all people, regardless of their situation, should be our guiding principle.
