ACIM Lesson 8 Commentary
"My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts."
When I look to see (and am willing to tell the truth about it, at least to myself) I realize that not only have I been preoccupied with past thoughts, but also future thoughts. Past thoughts often arise as regrets, future thoughts often arise as anxieties. Seldom does the mind even momentarily 'stop the world' (referencing the writing of Carlos Casteneda). And the idea that we could consciously Choose to stop living in a past/future continuum occurs to most of us as about as attractive as the idea of being an astronaut working outside a spacecraft, and unhooking the umbilical-cord-like safety tether and floating off into space. In other words, NOT living in the past/future paradigm occurs to most of us like nightmares of death, and is normally greatly feared. Adyashanti, a western Zen/Advaita teacher I respect tremendously, comments that most people (that would be us) will, when confronted with such Choice, rapidly retreat back into the known and familiar self-definitions (ie, past/future based) that are the matrix of our egos.
Of course, the only problem with this is we don't feel alive ongoingly. We mostly have high points (peak ego experiences) followed by low points (ego depressions/contractions), and by Grace, an occasional moment of Now where we experience Being and Happiness. If you are here reading this and are interested in true spiritual work, it is generally because you have experienced this high/low cycle enough that it has 'lost its savor' for you, and the deep call to be authentically alive (as distinct from simply 'being right' and 'looking good') has been heard. Personally, this course has been an invaluable friend on my own continuing journey towards such authentically alive authenticity, and my writing these comments is a bit like birthing a baby, in the sense that 'by their fruit shall you know them'. In other words, I am receiving what I already have by sharing it. If I didn't, the Course (for me) would devolve into a belief system, which is to say, a lie about the truth, as distinct from being access to 'the Living Truth'. Such 'Living Truth' is not ever in the past, and not ever in the future. It is forever in the Now, and the Now is eternal and forever. And all great lives (known or unknown to the world) that have ever been actually lived have been lived in this same Forever Nowness.
What the Course is offering today is a 'purchase point' (a solid, trustable location) to stand upon as we UNLEARN and remove some key habitual mind barriers to actual spiritual sight. Todays lesson is very good work. Let us be intention students today, as there actually is no tomorrow (tomorrow, you'll notice, it will still be Now).
Namaste,
David
********************************************
A (secondary) Commentary on the Lesson 9 Commentary (The original is placed further below).
This was the first commentary written 'the day before', and late at night before sleep, instead of rising early (3 to 6 am) to write. It feels now (in mornings light) a bit incomplete and a little over-fierce, so I am revising it to correct that with this addition commentary. The course repeatedly reminds us that mistakes ask only for correction, nothing else added (as in right/wrong judgements etc).
Point of Correction 1. The line "A trained mind can accomplish anything" could be misinterpreted by our current identities as a license to 'do anything we want to'. Actually, the reality is more like 'the trained mind can MEET (as in the sense of 'to face/embrace') anything'. In other words, we stop running from the curriculum that life is delivering, and we also stop attempting to control the curriculum. Its a deep recognition that we have been given (and will be given as needed) everything we need to do whatever we are being asked by life to do. So ultimately, there is a quiet fearlessness that is present, available, and tangible at all times.
Point of Correction 2. To use the words "cacophony nature of this world" is not meant as a judgement on the world. The Course is not about judging the world. "Indeed, to accept the world completely is identical with true enlightenment", says the 3rd Zen Patriarch.
So where we are going is to MEET the world 'in emptiness', which is about allowing us the experience of being able to express our true Loving Nature in it freely.
Point of Correction 3. Another word for 'empty, still, self-less, etc' is Present. Being fully Present doesn't happen by accident usually, it occurs as the result of intention. That is what practice is about: manifesting intention. Practice is about manifesting intention experientially, thus from practice, our knowing is direct experience. Understanding that is not based on direct experience is unreliable (to understate). That's why the Course simply encourages us to practice, as from it will arise our freedom.
So I shall now practice rising early to write. I am emptier then, it appears. Blessings to you all, and on your day. David
"My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts."
When I look to see (and am willing to tell the truth about it, at least to myself) I realize that not only have I been preoccupied with past thoughts, but also future thoughts. Past thoughts often arise as regrets, future thoughts often arise as anxieties. Seldom does the mind even momentarily 'stop the world' (referencing the writing of Carlos Casteneda). And the idea that we could consciously Choose to stop living in a past/future continuum occurs to most of us as about as attractive as the idea of being an astronaut working outside a spacecraft, and unhooking the umbilical-cord-like safety tether and floating off into space. In other words, NOT living in the past/future paradigm occurs to most of us like nightmares of death, and is normally greatly feared. Adyashanti, a western Zen/Advaita teacher I respect tremendously, comments that most people (that would be us) will, when confronted with such Choice, rapidly retreat back into the known and familiar self-definitions (ie, past/future based) that are the matrix of our egos.
Of course, the only problem with this is we don't feel alive ongoingly. We mostly have high points (peak ego experiences) followed by low points (ego depressions/contractions), and by Grace, an occasional moment of Now where we experience Being and Happiness. If you are here reading this and are interested in true spiritual work, it is generally because you have experienced this high/low cycle enough that it has 'lost its savor' for you, and the deep call to be authentically alive (as distinct from simply 'being right' and 'looking good') has been heard. Personally, this course has been an invaluable friend on my own continuing journey towards such authentically alive authenticity, and my writing these comments is a bit like birthing a baby, in the sense that 'by their fruit shall you know them'. In other words, I am receiving what I already have by sharing it. If I didn't, the Course (for me) would devolve into a belief system, which is to say, a lie about the truth, as distinct from being access to 'the Living Truth'. Such 'Living Truth' is not ever in the past, and not ever in the future. It is forever in the Now, and the Now is eternal and forever. And all great lives (known or unknown to the world) that have ever been actually lived have been lived in this same Forever Nowness.
What the Course is offering today is a 'purchase point' (a solid, trustable location) to stand upon as we UNLEARN and remove some key habitual mind barriers to actual spiritual sight. Todays lesson is very good work. Let us be intention students today, as there actually is no tomorrow (tomorrow, you'll notice, it will still be Now).
Namaste,
David
********************************************
A (secondary) Commentary on the Lesson 9 Commentary (The original is placed further below).
This was the first commentary written 'the day before', and late at night before sleep, instead of rising early (3 to 6 am) to write. It feels now (in mornings light) a bit incomplete and a little over-fierce, so I am revising it to correct that with this addition commentary. The course repeatedly reminds us that mistakes ask only for correction, nothing else added (as in right/wrong judgements etc).
Point of Correction 1. The line "A trained mind can accomplish anything" could be misinterpreted by our current identities as a license to 'do anything we want to'. Actually, the reality is more like 'the trained mind can MEET (as in the sense of 'to face/embrace') anything'. In other words, we stop running from the curriculum that life is delivering, and we also stop attempting to control the curriculum. Its a deep recognition that we have been given (and will be given as needed) everything we need to do whatever we are being asked by life to do. So ultimately, there is a quiet fearlessness that is present, available, and tangible at all times.
Point of Correction 2. To use the words "cacophony nature of this world" is not meant as a judgement on the world. The Course is not about judging the world. "Indeed, to accept the world completely is identical with true enlightenment", says the 3rd Zen Patriarch.
So where we are going is to MEET the world 'in emptiness', which is about allowing us the experience of being able to express our true Loving Nature in it freely.
Point of Correction 3. Another word for 'empty, still, self-less, etc' is Present. Being fully Present doesn't happen by accident usually, it occurs as the result of intention. That is what practice is about: manifesting intention. Practice is about manifesting intention experientially, thus from practice, our knowing is direct experience. Understanding that is not based on direct experience is unreliable (to understate). That's why the Course simply encourages us to practice, as from it will arise our freedom.
So I shall now practice rising early to write. I am emptier then, it appears. Blessings to you all, and on your day. David
posted by Rev. David Seacord at
3:10 PM
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