The In Between

There are things known, and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception.
Aldous Huxley


My last entry was a little challenging to understand...I did not articulate the way I wanted to...I did not teach the way I wanted to...so I did not learn the way I wanted to.  :) I understand that this talk about " the real world" and "illusions" is confusing.  Even more so is this talk about who we really are. What makes the teachings from A Course in Miracles so challenging for many of us is that its very simple lesson lies beneath an immense task of undoing the way we presently think and see the world.  I know for myself, before I could even begin to grasp the spiritual significance of A Course, I had to grasp the psychological teachings.  These teachings are the basis of my own preferred learning in psychology.  Change your thoughts; Change your life." One way of doing this is by focusing on the opposite of the things we do not want in our life.

Let's see if I can simplify the major points I was trying to make taking a step by step approach towards understanding:

1. Step One: Know that for most of us, the world is how we uniquely perceive it using our five senses.  Think about it.  Whatever you look upon is just light that is reflected into your retina in its unique bent and crooked way.  It is then  taken to the brain by the optic nerve where it will be interpreted. Your brain will make sense of it in the way your brain makes sense of things.  Your mind which is a collection of memories and past images; recorded teachings and explanations  from others and  thoughts and assumptions about what this thing you are looking upon should be....will provide much of that perceptual detail.  So what you eventually "see" is a product of your senses, your memories, past learning and your expectations.  It is  very much unique to you.  Is it not? Your perceptions determine the world you experience.
2. Step Two: We need to question our physical senses as being a trust worthy way of looking at the world.   We tend to focus on the physical and the visible but that is not necessarily truth or all there is. I think it is obvious that most of us look at the things we can see, touch, hear, taste and smell as being the only "real" things in our world, right? If we see it ...it is real.  If it can be experienced by the five senses it is truth. Yet, our senses provide unique experiences for each of us.   Is it possible that these five senses are limited in what they can show us?  Some of us, for example, have a different visual acuity.  Are only those people who have 20/20 vision experiencing reality and the rest of us living with blurred illusions? Let's conclude that our five senses are not enough to justify what is real and what isn't.  How often do we question if we are perceiving correctly or at least wholly? Is it possible that there is more?  If there is more, can we be more?  Can the person before us be more than what we see? Can the world be more than what we experience?
3. Step Three: What are you perceiving and experiencing now? Are you perceiving lack or plenty?  Beauty or ugliness; light or darkness; illness or wellness? Know then what you are perceiving now may not be unchangeable because the means by which you determine their reality  are not as trustworthy as you think. (In all actuality anything that can be changed is not real...but we will stay away from explaining that more until we master these steps.)  Maybe there is more to be had out there.  Maybe you are capable of more because you are more than this limited focus.
4. Step Four: If you want more, focus on more.  Go beyond what your five senses are telling you are real right now to what you want.  Know that whatever you think is happening  right now...good or bad... is just a result of your perceptions (which we determined are not that trust worthy for gauging reality) and your thoughts about the past.  Choose to think differently.  Seek out the opposites of your unwanted experiences
5. Step Five: Watch your Wording.  Change the thoughts by changing the words you use to create or recreate thoughts.  Use positive uplifting words, and stay clear of the negative words that create a sense of obligation, effort and unease in you
6. Step six: Watch your feelings.  How do the thoughts make you feel?  If you feel good, you are going in the right direction.  If you feel uneasy, disbelief, or a great deal of effort it is time to stop and re-examine your thinking again.  Once it feels right, keep going!!!
7. Step Seven: Stand back and watch what happens when you truly change the way you think and feel about your world. Your world will actually change.  You will see it differently.  You will experience it differently.  And it will be different...giving evidence to this notion that your world is in your mind. Light will shine in on the darkness!

All is well!