Lesson 162. I am as God created me.
I am as God created me. Did God create me? What does this mean? What I understand to be true is that I am not separate from my source. How can it be said then that there is a “God” that created a “me?”
For all the ballyhoo about the scribe of ACIM being an atheist, the Course was clearly written within a Christian framework and understanding. In this regard, it is a bit like telling a child that there is a Santa Claus, who rewards them for good behavior. It is merely a literary device for calmly and sweetly explaining the fundamental equations necessary to achieve the desired results.
Because we find it so difficult to imbue our conceptions of ourselves with the grand characteristics of Source, ACIM tells of an all-powerful, all-knowing, benevolent power that guides us unto Awakening and calls that power, “God.” Had the Course said simply, “You are God,” it would have been summarily dismissed by the egos who sat about to read it.
This statement does, however, contain the truth of Your Being. You are that all-powerful, all-knowing, benevolent power that is the energy of the universe, the Tao—God. Your Awakening is your recognition of that fact. In that recognition, you awake from the dream/delusion that you could possibly be anything else.
The lesson says: “I am as God created me. This single thought, held firmly in the mind, would save the world. … These words are sacred, for they are the words God gave in answer to the world you made. By them it disappears, and all things seen within its misty clouds and vaporous illusions vanish as these words are spoken. For they come from God.”
As such, they are a trail map designed to lead us back to the truth. As we learned in NTI Romans Chapter 2, this “world,” which exists in thought or “theory” only, was merely an experiment—a child’s game, if you will—thought up in response to the hypothetical question, what if We were different than We are? Clearly, if the same force that created the experiment were to abandon its terms (if we were to laugh at the very idea) we would immediately return to our reality. As Romans told us, we did not scoff at the idea, but became engrossed in it and using the creative power of our thought, wound ourselves deeper and deeper into the game.
To extricate ourselves from the game, we employ two primary tools: self-inquiry and Self Inquiry. Thus, these are two sides to the coin of awakening. One is letting go of the false self through self-inquiry, which is questioning the false self in order to recognize that it isn’t you; it is merely attachment to thought. The other is recognizing and embracing the true Self through Self-inquiry, a form of devotion where you repeatedly focus on the true Self until it is your only experience. Yesterday we focused on self-inquiry by looking at our anger. Today we will focus on Self-inquiry.
The single thought that has the power the Course speaks of is not the intellectual idea, “I am as God created me.” It is the realization “I am as God created me.” Today we seek to have many glimpses of this realization. “Holy indeed is he who makes these words his own; arising with them in his mind, recalling them throughout the day, at night bringing them with him as he goes to sleep.”
Take many pauses today to notice life-presence in yourself. Pause and ask yourself, “Do I exist now?” And, then, relax and notice that you do. Ask, “Am I aware now?” And, then, relax and notice that you are.
When you have a few minutes for a little deeper practice, sit quietly and notice how much awareness can be aware of at once. Notice that it is aware of sounds ahead of you, behind you and to each side simultaneously. Notice it is aware of sensations in the body. It is aware of thoughts in the mind. Notice it is aware of both the outer world (sights & sounds) and the inner world (sensations and thoughts) simultaneously. And, as you notice this, notice you are awareness. You are that which is aware of the outer and inner world. Stay a few moments more, resting as awareness.
If you would like some coaching about how to experience many glimpses of the Self throughout the day, consider watching this 11-minute video by Bentinho Massaro. This is a video that I have shared before, but you may be ready to notice more in it now:
