Last week I shared a personal example of noticing - and not indulging - ego. Here I want to talk about noticing - and giving steadfast attention to - the Holy Spirit.
Ego is legion and self-constructed.
Everyone makes an ego or a self for himself, which is subject to enormous variation because of its instability. He also makes an ego for everyone else he perceives, which is equally variable. Their interaction is a process that alters both, because they were not made by or with the Unalterable (T-4.II.2:1-3).
The Holy Spirit, on the other hand - the Unalterable - is forever unified. We share it. It's not my Holy Spirit over here and your Holy Spirit over there. It's one.
This is why A Course in Miracles teaches us that the Voice that was in Jesus, and taught him to be Christ, is also the Voice that is in us and is teaching the very same lesson.
I have assured you that the Mind that decided for me is also in you, and that you can let it change you just as it changed me. This Mind is unequivocal, because it hears only one Voice and answers in only one way. You are the light of the world with me (T-5.II.10:1-3).
This is also why the course suggests that we only truly recognize one another by recognizing the Holy Spirit in each other (T-5.III.1:1). Bodies - and the world those bodies bring forth - i.e., ego - don't enter into it at all.
One Teacher is in all minds and He teaches the same lesson to all. He always teaches you the inestimable worth of every Child of God, teaching it with infinite patience born of the infinite Love for which He speaks (T-7.VII.7:2-3).
This is clearly a call to know and care for everyone - without qualification or exception - as our equal. It is also a call to recognize how hard it is to do this. We like the sound of it, but bringing it into application is something else. Just look at the world, right?
That is because most of us see the other as a mirror in which our own egoic self is reflected. We read the other in order to figure out what they mean for us. Even when we think about their interests, it still connects to our perception of our own self. "Look how open-minded and selfless I am, focusing on the other's happiness instead of my own."
That is because we are still following ego's dictate that we consider ourselves only in terms of the limitations and vulnerabilities of the body. We're getting more and more spiritual maybe but only in these bodies and only compared to other bodies. It's like saying I'm 70% Christ, which is a ten percent improvement over last year, and which surely puts me in the top twenty-five percent of all ACIM students, if not better.
Thinking this way isn't a crime against God or Nature, but it is not the way to the peace and happiness for which we so desperately long.
So the invitation I make is to consider the following: What is the Holy Spirit if you share it with me (and everyone else) and it does not change? If it's the same Holy Spirit that attended Jesus? What is your actual experience of it?
It can't have anything to do with bodies, right? It can't have anything to do with time or space.
Can you - right here, right now - hear the Voice for God that spoke to Jesus and is - right here, right now - teaching you how to practice the same radical and selfless love that he practiced?
It's not a Voice that argues. It's not a Voice that recognizes or cherishes differences. It's not even a Voice that uses language. Its most salient quality is its calm certainty, which it shares with us, and through us, with everyone else.
You dwell in peace as limitless as its Creator, and everything is given those who would remember Him. Over His home, the Holy Spirit watches, sure that its peace can never be disturbed (T-23.I.10:7-8).
In quiet today, let us hear the Voice that does not see us as separated by time or space, by ability or belief, by appearance or aspect. However briefly, let us set aside the ego's frantic emphasis on the value of differences, and perceive instead the spirit which transcends perception, teaching us over and over there is only Love, and unto it we are happily equal.
Love,
Sean
Thank you Sean, a lovely reminder of the same love that the Holy Spirit has for all of us.
You said it perfectly "In quiet today, let us hear the Voice that does not see us as separated by time or space, by ability or belief, by appearance or aspect." If only I could manage this as He does.
It is a good reminder that the Holy Spirit does see us all equally, that can be hard to take sometimes, especially with our default for judgement and lack of self-worth. I always think of it as how you feel with your siblings, it can be difficult to accept that your parents love their children equally, difficult to understand that love is not measurable and that to your parents you are all worthy of the same love. There is a bond with your parents that even when they, or you, behave badly there is a thread that runs between you that is unbreakable.
You can have only one earthly Mother, only one earthly Father and somehow that gives an extra bond. If only we could recognise that in our relationship with our true Father. And if only we could see all those we see in any moment as our true brothers and sisters with the same bond and reality that we feel here with our earthly family. Then I am sure it would help us to see the truth that there is no separation between us, that we are the Children of God who loves us all equally beyond measure.
Much Love to You Sean as Always, Suzy xxx
Beautifully said: “…the ego's frantic emphasis on the value of differences”. It is a frantic emphasis, isn’t it? And in looking for the value of differences, my ego is looking for something that doesn’t exist, if I am to understand ACIM correctly. I’d like to think that’s one way to more readily discern what’s true within me (the Holy Spirit) and what is not (the ego). The Holy Spirit just “feels” good and right and true. And when I’m caught up in ego, I’m restless, irritable and discontent. I’m grateful for the thoughts you share, and I’m grateful that ACIM is helping me to make better choices, day by day. Thanks Sean.