Wonderful and thoughtful sharing, Sean! There's a cliché, "comparisons are odious" and that seems to point out the underlying jealousy or ill will in comparisons. In our ACIM context, I see it as an agent of our perpetual "separation" or separating.
Here, you highlight our LIFE condition: "Please see the clarity of that last sentence. It does not say refer to the peace that we have or know or are. It says the peace we are still looking for. It refers to the peace we haven't found. It envisions a future state that is not this present state." Our work is to be vigilant and alive to how we are using our minds...constantly, while we are alive in a body.
Sep 11, 2023·edited Sep 11, 2023Liked by Sean Reagan
Thank you Sean so much and to Holy Spirit
🙏🙏
I often find myself stuck in trying to figure out how to undo unloving thoughts (such as comparison thoughts) and to make myself holy😄 Mental wrestling! ego takes on itself, the job of correcting itself 😄 when realising it doesn’t work, hopelessness and guilt to follow. Of course it doesn’t work, that’s not my function. Forgiveness is my only function here. Forgive the comparisons even though I don’t even know what it means to forgive the comparisons, apart from asking for Help in quietening my mind.
Thank you for the clear understanding and persistent encouragement to live the course with our bodies and our lives in real and practical ways. I admit that I can get tangled up in analyzing, intellectualizing, etc. so it is always helpful to be encouraged to take the next step.
This weekend, while in NYC, I’ve had the chance to practice. As I go about my days, I see the mentally unwell man on the subway, the migrant worker on the street with her child in tow, the homeless woman at the airport. I naturally compare. I am aware of my feelings of compassion, and I recognize my feelings of guilt for my “privilege,” both of which rest upon the foundational belief of separation. I try and practice the lessons I’ve learned, including no comparison and gratitude, especially gratitude. And I try to undo the way the world has mistakenly taught me to be grateful.
Gratitude is a lesson hard to learn for those who look upon the world amiss. ²The most that they can do is see themselves as better off than others. ³And they try to be content because another seems to suffer more than they. ⁴How pitiful and deprecating are such thoughts! ⁵For who has cause for thanks while others have less cause? ⁶And who could suffer less because he sees another suffer more? ⁷Your gratitude is due to Him alone Who made all cause of sorrow disappear throughout the world. W-195.1:1-7
I do what I can whether it be extend love, buy gum, offer a cup of coffee. At times, it is simply a recognition of my thoughts. I ask myself is this enough?
In truly seeking ways to apply the course, I am learning that I will be shown and my part is to first ask and then trust. I often times trip over myself but somehow find grace. It is a slow process for me, and I am eternally grateful for you and other companions along this journey.
Several serendipitous readings from the Course today. One of them contributes the fact that there exists one legitimate use for comparisons--but it belongs to the Holy Spirit!
". . .the Holy spirit must teach through comparisons and uses opposites to point to truth."
CE edition, Chapter 16, part VII, paragraph 7. (AKA page 545)
I look forward to every Monday essay. Thank you, Sean.
Wonderful and thoughtful sharing, Sean! There's a cliché, "comparisons are odious" and that seems to point out the underlying jealousy or ill will in comparisons. In our ACIM context, I see it as an agent of our perpetual "separation" or separating.
Here, you highlight our LIFE condition: "Please see the clarity of that last sentence. It does not say refer to the peace that we have or know or are. It says the peace we are still looking for. It refers to the peace we haven't found. It envisions a future state that is not this present state." Our work is to be vigilant and alive to how we are using our minds...constantly, while we are alive in a body.
Thank you Sean so much and to Holy Spirit
🙏🙏
I often find myself stuck in trying to figure out how to undo unloving thoughts (such as comparison thoughts) and to make myself holy😄 Mental wrestling! ego takes on itself, the job of correcting itself 😄 when realising it doesn’t work, hopelessness and guilt to follow. Of course it doesn’t work, that’s not my function. Forgiveness is my only function here. Forgive the comparisons even though I don’t even know what it means to forgive the comparisons, apart from asking for Help in quietening my mind.
Your piece filled me with Hope and Innocence.
Thank you for the clear understanding and persistent encouragement to live the course with our bodies and our lives in real and practical ways. I admit that I can get tangled up in analyzing, intellectualizing, etc. so it is always helpful to be encouraged to take the next step.
This weekend, while in NYC, I’ve had the chance to practice. As I go about my days, I see the mentally unwell man on the subway, the migrant worker on the street with her child in tow, the homeless woman at the airport. I naturally compare. I am aware of my feelings of compassion, and I recognize my feelings of guilt for my “privilege,” both of which rest upon the foundational belief of separation. I try and practice the lessons I’ve learned, including no comparison and gratitude, especially gratitude. And I try to undo the way the world has mistakenly taught me to be grateful.
Gratitude is a lesson hard to learn for those who look upon the world amiss. ²The most that they can do is see themselves as better off than others. ³And they try to be content because another seems to suffer more than they. ⁴How pitiful and deprecating are such thoughts! ⁵For who has cause for thanks while others have less cause? ⁶And who could suffer less because he sees another suffer more? ⁷Your gratitude is due to Him alone Who made all cause of sorrow disappear throughout the world. W-195.1:1-7
I do what I can whether it be extend love, buy gum, offer a cup of coffee. At times, it is simply a recognition of my thoughts. I ask myself is this enough?
In truly seeking ways to apply the course, I am learning that I will be shown and my part is to first ask and then trust. I often times trip over myself but somehow find grace. It is a slow process for me, and I am eternally grateful for you and other companions along this journey.
Thank you.🌸
“What happens next?”
More and more room at the inn. 💕
Thank you, Sean, for the light you hold up to a seemingly difficult lesson. Your clarity is appreciated.
Love,
Cheryl
Several serendipitous readings from the Course today. One of them contributes the fact that there exists one legitimate use for comparisons--but it belongs to the Holy Spirit!
". . .the Holy spirit must teach through comparisons and uses opposites to point to truth."
CE edition, Chapter 16, part VII, paragraph 7. (AKA page 545)
I look forward to every Monday essay. Thank you, Sean.