Today’s lesson begins by telling us we will take a break from the theoretical and come back now to practical concerns. If we will see today’s lesson as practical and not theoretical, we will shed the ego thought system.

Let me start by saying that the ego is inherently selfish.The ego always thinks of ‘me’ and ‘mine.’ It has no other point of view. Spirit, on the other hand, thinks only of purpose and wholeness. It has a broad perspective, and ‘me’ is completely unimportant. That doesn’t mean that the individual is sacrificed. The individual is loved as part of the whole, which is completely different than the selfishness of the ego.

I will also say that one of the most challenging things to teach is dropping selfishness. The ego is extremely protective of it. Yet, if you are to know the heart of truth, selfishness must be let go.

Today’s workbook lesson is excellent in its practicality, if you will use it that way. I did. The effect for me was that I saw my own selfishness in a way I had not seen it before, and this generated a change in me from a selfish perspective to a perspective of service.

When I first used this was during that period of time when Ron and I had agreed to marry, and then I began to sense that he was going to back out. I told that story in last Sunday’s service. (I will provide the link to the audio in the comments section below.)

At first my response to realizing he would back out was a lot of ego chatter. That chatter was focused on ideas about how I could still get what I wanted. It looked at the situation from many different angles, like it was working on a puzzle, and it tried to figure out the exact strategy that would get what I wanted. And yet, somehow I was blind to the selfishness in that until I tested what I wanted against the criteria in today’s workbook lesson. The test looked something like this:

1. I want to convince Ron to marry me. I remember there are only two alternatives, and in every choice I make I choose either ego or heaven. I accept that as true. I also accept there is no compromise, no ‘in-between’ option. This wanting is either ego or heaven, and I am here to discover which it is. If I convince Ron to marry me, will that marriage last forever? No. At best, “death do us part.” It could end in divorce before that. If I convince Ron to marry me, am I taking something from someone else? Cleary the answer is ‘yes.’ If he does not want to marry me, and I somehow convince him to marry me, I am taking his freedom to follow his own will from him. Is it possible that if I convince Ron to marry me, I will later feel guilty? Yes, I can see how that might occur. Therefore, my desire to convince Ron to marry me is ego and must be let go.

2. What if I do nothing? What if I simply let this unfold without grievance and let everything be? Will that last forever? Yes! I see how simply letting everything unfold and be as it is, is a non-ending state of being. If I make this choice, am I taking something from someone else? No, not at all ever. Will I feel guilty for this choice? No, it seems that I would only feel curious. And if I am completely genuine in letting everything unfold without putting my desires upon it, I would be happy.

And so, I made the second choice. That is how this lesson works in a practical way. Also, from looking at this and other choices this clearly, I could instantly see what was selfish and what was not. I learned to drop the selfishness, and live in a state of service, which is ‘letting it all unfold and be as it is’ while intuiting my little part in it, but never seeking for what ‘I can get out of it.’ Except for awakening, of course.

Link to last Sunday’s Weekly Gathering, as mentioned above: 

Today’s lesson is an interesting lesson. Is it implying that you should be able to heal the sick and raise the dead? Does it mean you can end wars by changing your mind? Or is the main point that there is no world at all?

I have seen many Course students give their point of view in answer to those questions over the years, but I don’t think we should get lost in those thoughts or those discussions. I feel this is the main point of the lesson and where we should focus our attention today:

Today’s lesson is good news. It’s just as Jesus said, “Seek and you shall find. Knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)

It is popular today to say that seeking is the problem; one is already awake & needs only to let go of seeking. To me, that is kind of like saying, “You know the door opens, so why knock?”

Today we go even deeper into ‘Choice A’ and ‘Choice B,’ which were introduced in yesterday’s tip. Today we are told that we see a world of differences, which is not there, because we want to see it; we value it.

This is where A Course in Miracles and other truth teachings can become a little difficult to accept. You may feel resistance to this message. However, let’s put any resistance we may feel aside and look at today’s lesson and ourselves objectively (without judgment).

We are told that we see this world because we value it. Is that true? There is a way you can find out. How much of your time is spent thinking about you and the world from your point-of-view? And how much of your time is spent in awareness-watching-awareness, turning attention away from the world and away from thought, and turning attention towards the Self?

If we look honestly at how we spend our time, we can see which we value more.

In “The Most Direct Means to Eternal Bliss,” Chapter 5, Michael Langford writes, “How will you know that you have made Choice A? When you drop all unnecessary activities everyday, and use all of the free time thus created to actually practice everyday the most rapid and direct means to eternal bliss, you will know you have made Choice A.”

Let’s look at the story of Nisargadatta Maharaj. He said:

“My Guru told me, ‘Go back to that state of pure being, where the ‘I am’ is still in its purity before it got contaminated with ‘this I am’ or ‘that I am’. Your burden is of false self-identifications — abandon them all.’ My Guru told me — ‘Trust me. I tell you; you are divine. Take it as the absolute truth. Your joy is divine; Your suffering is divine too. All comes from God. Remember it always. You are God, your will alone is done’. I did believe him and soon realised how wonderfully true and accurate were his words. I did not condition my mind by thinking: ‘I am God, I am wonderful, I am beyond’. I simply followed his instruction which was to focus the mind on pure being ‘I am’, and stay in it. I used to sit for hours together, with, nothing but the ‘I am’ in my mind and soon peace and joy and a deep all-embracing love became my normal state. In it all disappeared — myself, my Guru, the life I lived, the world around me. Only peace remained and unfathomable silence.”

That is the story of how the world of differences disappeared and another, the divine Self, came into view. Nisargadatta valued truth enough to sit for hours each day with attention turned away from the world and towards the Self, until the former disappeared, and the latter shined forth as the only reality.

We contemplate this today: What do I want?

This is the “Consistent, Gentle Healing Group,” and so we are increasing our time spent in awareness-watching-awareness meditation gradually. Are we now spending at least 15-20 minutes a day in awareness-watching-awareness as we are asked? Are we doing the other homework assignments, which are intended to help increase our desire for truth?

Spend today in contemplation of ‘Choice A’ and ‘Choice B,’ and ask yourself if you value ‘Choice A’ enough to spend time each day consciously making that choice