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Word Gems
exploring self-realization, sacred personhood, and full humanity
How To Sit Quietly
In A Room Alone
| Beyond charitable works and service we will discover another, higher meaning for existence. But this reason for living will come to light only in the small quiet room. |
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The Course In Miracles declares that its channeling source on the other side is none other than Jesus. I’ve not rushed to underwrite this proposition as many claims have been made, and many are found wanting. However, at times I find in the Course a precept so wise, so profound, that I am tempted to agree with this issue of authorship. No ordinary mind could see certain things.
In Lesson #37 of the Course’s “Workbook” we find a discussion of one’s personal “holiness” in the context of charitable service. “Holiness,” as defined by the Course, is a sacredness possessed by all human beings because “your mind is part of God’s.” The realization of this “Source … establishes your Identity” as it “describes you as you really must be” (Lesson #35); that is, this is your true self, linked to God - beneath the layers of egoic masking.
“Your purpose is to see the world through your own holiness”; that is, we are to make real the fact that we are linked to God, and this will change everything for us.
“Thus you and the world are blessed together.” How are we blessed together in this world of strife and grasping?
We are blessed together when each one of us sees him or herself as “enough” and “in need of nothing.”
“Your holiness blesses him by asking nothing of him. Those who see themselves as whole make no demands.”
Well, that’s a switch, isn’t it? In other articles we’ve said that “every ego wants something” – something from you. Every ego has an angle to play. It’s a disease. The ego can’t help itself with its systemic neediness, perceptions of “I am not enough.”
But, here you come, your eyes beginning to open to ultimate reality of “I am more than enough in God. I am in need of nothing. You can’t help me because I already have everything.”
As the phrase is used – trust me; if you walk into a room with a spirit of unaffected quiet ease, sufficient unto yourself, it will be noticed. This is why the Course says that “Your holiness is the salvation of the world. It lets you teach the world … not by preaching to it, not by telling it to do anything, but merely by your quiet recognition that in your holiness are all things blessed along with you.”
Pretty neat, huh? The greatest and most effective missionaries are those who exude a spirit of “I am enough in God, and I need nothing from you, but would only show you the way, if you were of a mind to receive it, how you, too, can discover your own holiness.”
Let’s talk about this charitable works and service. The traditional way of viewing this subject is that of giving up something, giving back, making a sacrifice, depriving oneself, deny oneself so that others might gain.
We’re very familiar with this. And we don’t want to denigrate it as, in this world, there is much suffering and the godly person is moved to alleviate the pain of others as one has opportunity. However, while the Course is not unmindful of the needs of this world, it also points us to higher ground.
Notice this. It is a service in which everyone wins everything:
“… you and the world are blessed together. No one loses; nothing is taken away from anyone; everyone gains through your holy vision. It signifies the end of sacrifice because it offers everyone his full due. And he is entitled to everything because it is his birthright as a Son of God. There is no other way in which the idea of sacrifice can be removed from the world’s thinking. Any other way of seeing will inevitably demand payment of someone or something. As a result, the perceiver will lose...”
Sacrifice, denying the self, giving up something, are time-honored efforts, indeed, noble precepts exemplified by the finest spirits of history. And yet, all this cannot constitute the central meaning of life – because we, all of us, are headed for a world wherein there is no hunger, no lack of educational opportunities, no need for housing, no shortage of any good thing. What is the future of charitable works then in such halcyon environment?
Notice the emphasis on “no one loses,” “nothing is taken away.” With Service 2.0 no one gives up anything. We already have everything, and we cannot lose the inner inheritance, it’s impossible to cast it away; although, we can remain blinded to the soul’s wealth.
The Course points us toward our destiny. There are no food banks, no homeless shelters, no bodily diseased in Summerland. Living life as an immortal requires a “whole new set of rules,” as the song goes. To successfully live eternal life, to avoid its existential terrors, one needs to discover the riches of the soul. We must establish our true identity, our connection with Source. As we do, we feel within ourselves a rising sense of “I am enough. I have need of nothing.”
The inner riches are best discovered in the small quiet room.
Editor’s note: I said that beyond charitable works and service we will discover another, higher meaning for existence. Many religions claim otherwise, indicating that service is the best purpose; they even say that it's the best reason for marriage. But the Course would differ. That higher reason for living, one conforming to our eternal natures, a discussion we've had in many Word Gems articles, is simply that of enjoying our own existence. This is not as simple as it sounds, and there are millions on the other side drifting into a form of insanity for lack of this wisdom. See the article, “the 500 tape-recording messages from the other side.”
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in this world, as we know, there is much suffering
There are many fine charities to contribute to, and it’s a very good idea to do so. There are charity rating-services which identify well run charitable organizations, ones which very efficiently keep admin costs low, and do not pay their CEOs exorbitant salaries. We should support these charities. Some of these top charities offer aid and relief to the world’s poorest in third-world countries. And some of their directors take zero salary for their efforts. This is more than commendable.
As a side note, it’s good to keep in mind why these desperate world-poverty situations occur. I’ll bet you a dollar, in every one of these very poor countries, there’s a cabal of elite Dear Leaders at the top raking off the wealth of the nation for their private gain. See on the "Economics" page. There is no rule of law. There is no safeguarding of personal liberties. There is no emphasis on the dignity of each human being.
At the time of this writing, more so than at any other time since the days prior to World War II, we find totalitarianism on the march all over the world, and in our country, too. The totalitarians here are closing the noose via censorship and a narrowing of personal freedoms. See the recent report of the professor attacked, as discussed on the “Deception” page.
If these trends continue, Western civilization will not survive, and we too will find ourselves in an artificial poverty situation, orchestrated by our own Dear Leaders; ones who suffer under the self-evaluation of "I am not enough."
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