Anyone who is familiar with Michael Langford’s work may have noticed “Choice A” and “Choice B” in today’s workbook lesson. These choices are laid out in Chapter 5 of ‘The Most Direct Means to Eternal Bliss.’ Here are some excerpts:
“The primary means to awaken the extremely intense desire for liberation is to carefully examine two choices everyday until the extremely intense desire for liberation awakens. …
“Choice A is Infinite-Eternal-Awareness-Love-Bliss with no sorrow and no suffering. Choice A is Eternal Life. Choice A is to live as your true Self for all eternity. Choice A is absolutely perfect joy.
“Choice B is being identified with a body subject to suffering, sorrow, disease, death, violence, fear, anger, etc. Choice B is to allow an imposter called the ego to pretend to be yourself and to control you. Choice B is to allow an imposter called the ego, that has created all the wars, diseases, death, sorrow, suffering and evil that every human has ever experienced, to continue. Choice B is to have a temporary and therefore futile life that leads only to death.”
Today’s Course lesson asks us to look at these same choices. It says:
“Our emphasis is not on giving up the world but on exchanging it for what is far more satisfying, filled with joy, and capable of offering you peace. …
“The world you see is merciless indeed, unstable, cruel, unconcerned with you, quick to avenge and pitiless with hate. It gives but to rescind, and takes away all things that you have cherished for a while. …
“Is it loss to find all things you really want, and know they have no ending and they will remain exactly as you want them throughout time? Yet even they will be exchanged at last for what we cannot speak of, for you go from there to where words fail entirely, into silence where the language is unspoken and yet surely understood. …
“Such is the choice.”
This is what we are asked to look at today, Choice A and Choice B. It is helpful to consider these two choices honestly and deeply.
For me it came down to this: Even if this life is absolutely perfect by giving me everything I want, it will still end with death. When I looked directly at the fact that everything I enjoy is temporary and must end, I became ready to reach for what Jesus called ‘eternal life.’
Here are some more quotes from Chapter 5 of ‘The Most Direct Means to Eternal Bliss’:
“The ego is the source of all evil. The ego is insane. This is true for all humans. To produce so many trillions of horrors, the ego has to be evil and insane.
“Something in you longs for an end to the imposter’s dream. Something in you longs for infinite Love. Something in you longs for the end of all suffering and sorrow. Something in you longs for eternal-joy-love.
“It is possible to end the ego’s dream and to discover the true Self which is free of all suffering and sorrow and whose nature is infinite-eternal-love-joy. It is possible now in this lifetime, while this body is living.
“Co-operate with your Heart. Stop listening to your ego.
“If you turn your attention away from thought and towards awareness watching awareness and sustain that look for many hours everyday, eventually the ego dream will end and the true Self will be known.”
Today’s Course lesson asks us to practice awareness watching awareness for 30-minutes broken up into three 10-minute segments. I ask that you extend at least one of those segments into a 15-minute segment.
We have found the pathway home. Now, let’s walk it.