My Path to "A Program in Miracles."
Looking back now, my course to "A Course in Miracles" possibly all started in 1969 when I approved Jesus, my individual Lord and Savior, under the influence of the Campus Crusade for Christ. I felt like a parrot of Bible verses that I didn't even start to recognize or the community crier that no one wanted to listen to.
When I was in the black space, with only the consciousness that "I Am," George Harrison's tune My Sweet Lord started playing. Soon a tremendous white light started appearing out of the darkness as my spirit sang, "I truly desire to see you, Lord." As I would certainly be praying to Jesus, I thought it may be him, yet without a beard.
Next came conference Baba Ram Dass, which verified that I wasn't crazy and mentioned that Yogananda had shown up to several young spiritual hunters on medications.
My next decade was spent being an ambitious yogi and exercising Yogananda's Self-Realization Fellowship workouts and lessons, chanting, receiving, and practicing meditation initiation right into Kriya yoga. Yogananda's course and linage of gurus brought the much-needed clarity for me to comprehend Jesus and Christianity much better.
In this series of short articles, we have discussed specialness and even more spiritual specialness as it is a prevalent type in the Course neighbourhood. In this 5th post, we will bring the conversation around to idols, as suggested in A Course in Miracles (ACIM).
You will undoubtedly remember from the 4th short article on fragmentation, we are seeking to familiarize when we are choosing the vanity (Ken Wapnick) because vanity is the part of the mind that relies on the department (T-5. V. 3). Idolizers must necessitate consideration and also known as they are ego:
Idol is the icon of the replacement of the vanity for our true Self or God; a fallacy that there can be something apart from, or more than God, and thus different from Him, an idea which is after that forecasted onto the special connection: suggestions, individuals or things (Glossary-Index for a course in miracles online, Kindle place 550).
Your faith is put in the craziest and trivial signs; pills, money, impact, reputation, understanding the "appropriate" people, and a limitless listing of forms of nothingness that you enhance with beautiful powers. All these points are your substitutes for the Love of God (Lesson 50).
Here within the dream or illusion, the word sign interpretation for "idolizer" is, "A person or point that is significantly admired, liked or prized." In the last article on fragmentation, we likewise talked about exactly how mentally unique Course instructors are cult leaders and words icon meaning for a "cult," which most do rule out is, "A lost or excessive adoration for a particular individual or point." These signs point to the same point: Specialness in all its kinds are idols indicated to change the Love of God and maintain the separation psychologically.
Throughout this series, we've also referred to spiritual specialness as caring who they share the stage or spotlight with, i.e., the unique partnership and instructing their very own vanity version of the reality. The wordplay here meant on this one: Let's finish setting the phase for this discussion with the following quote from yet an additional author: