I asked the Holy Spirit to help me learn to forgive and boy, my lesson popped up immediately.
I named my ego Sméagol, and he has been badgering me constantly to feel resentment and abandonment in a situation with my sister-in-law whom I have been friends with for a very long time.
I have a quote from the Course on my desk that says, …”Beware of the temptation to perceive yourself as unfairly treated. In this view you seek to find innocence that you do not share, but that is yours alone, and this at the cost of someone else’s guilt. “
This is definitely Sméagol‘a game plan. He says I can feel innocent if someone else is guilty. But I have to remember that we are both innocent!
In truth we are both blameless-beautiful-gentle-and kind.
Man, it’s been a real struggle to keep that in my mind and to ignore my old habits.
Always happy to pray for you, Deb :) You can pray for me too - I'm always in need.
And I love the ego as a character in LOTR. It is truly one of the foundational texts of my life. Smeagol is interesting in that respect, as he ends up being part of the solution to the crisis of the ring . . .
I agree that remembering our innocence is shared, and that to exclude one person is to exclude all, including our own self, is profoundly challenging. It is not for the faint of heart - we all need the courage of Frodo, and we all need to both have and offer the stout friendship of Sam.
Loved this today Sean and I especially loved this bit at the end "Start small: a bird at the feeder, a cloud in the sky. Give attention to it not as the judge of its value, its rights to be, or its reason for existence but as its "equal in God's Love" (T-31.II.7:1). Welcome it as the friend it is, and learn that all we have are friends, each an invitation to gaze beyond separation to our shared home in God."
I always try to remind myself that if I don't want to feel guilty then don't judge, the minute that I do that guilt hits me like a speeding train!
It is so important to learn to love everything that visits us throughout our day, the good news and the bad, the pain and the joy, the mayhem and the peace. So important to see them all as gifts and opportunities to remember the love that is always present when we choose to see it.
Thank you for reminding me to see the love everywhere today my friend.
Love this. “What would the world look like if you did not judge it? How would you feel?
In this slow, sometimes frustrating process of letting go of ego and awakening to the Holy Spirit, I find these two questions really helpful to think about. It’s so interesting to think that the rush to judgment seems to be unconsciously driven by a misguided belief that judgment will make us feel better about ourselves, when in actuality, if we stop for a moment and really examine how judgment “feels”, well…it feels pretty yucky.
And my gosh, what would the world look like if I and everyone else didn’t judge it? It would be pretty beautiful. Judgment seems to be the most immediate pathway to the illusion of separation. I am better than you, I am worse than you, I am this and you are that. When I can get quiet and really examine this kind of thinking, I see it for what it is - insanity. Thanks for sharing your thoughts Sean.
"Unconsciously driven by a misguided belief" feels like it could be an epitaph for the human species :) But giving attention to how judgment arises, what function it serves, and being open to something else feels very healing. It does also feel unnatural, at least at the beginning. Thanks for reading, Mark - I always resonate when you share. I'm glad we get to share this particular part of the way together.
Is this to say that inherent in Judgement/Judging is the identifying by name or label any thing or person? And if so, is this naming and labeling an activity of the Ego?
It's not a hill I would die on but yes - that is the suggestion. The judgment reflects the decision to be separate, and the name/label codifies the judgment.
I should add: anything in the context of separation can be used to undo separation, when honestly given to the Holy Spirit for that purpose. So language - which does in so many ways codify and reify separation - can also be turned to its undoing. An example of that would be a poem in which the writer explores all the ways one can name flowers and know flowers before coming to the realization that being - which is love - does not actually require all that. The poem - which is language - becomes a pointer to what is beyond language, or before language - what can perhaps can not be touched by language. On this view, the care and precision that go into the poem's making - ensuring that its readers will be gently led beyond the name to that which transcends names - is a form of love, itself a reflection of that which transcends names.
I have been very lucky in my teachers, Susan . . . 🙏❤️
Thank you for this article.
I asked the Holy Spirit to help me learn to forgive and boy, my lesson popped up immediately.
I named my ego Sméagol, and he has been badgering me constantly to feel resentment and abandonment in a situation with my sister-in-law whom I have been friends with for a very long time.
I have a quote from the Course on my desk that says, …”Beware of the temptation to perceive yourself as unfairly treated. In this view you seek to find innocence that you do not share, but that is yours alone, and this at the cost of someone else’s guilt. “
This is definitely Sméagol‘a game plan. He says I can feel innocent if someone else is guilty. But I have to remember that we are both innocent!
In truth we are both blameless-beautiful-gentle-and kind.
Man, it’s been a real struggle to keep that in my mind and to ignore my old habits.
Please pray for me!
Always happy to pray for you, Deb :) You can pray for me too - I'm always in need.
And I love the ego as a character in LOTR. It is truly one of the foundational texts of my life. Smeagol is interesting in that respect, as he ends up being part of the solution to the crisis of the ring . . .
I agree that remembering our innocence is shared, and that to exclude one person is to exclude all, including our own self, is profoundly challenging. It is not for the faint of heart - we all need the courage of Frodo, and we all need to both have and offer the stout friendship of Sam.
Thanks, Deb. Your comment made me very happy 🙏🙏
Love,
Sean
Loved this today Sean and I especially loved this bit at the end "Start small: a bird at the feeder, a cloud in the sky. Give attention to it not as the judge of its value, its rights to be, or its reason for existence but as its "equal in God's Love" (T-31.II.7:1). Welcome it as the friend it is, and learn that all we have are friends, each an invitation to gaze beyond separation to our shared home in God."
I always try to remind myself that if I don't want to feel guilty then don't judge, the minute that I do that guilt hits me like a speeding train!
It is so important to learn to love everything that visits us throughout our day, the good news and the bad, the pain and the joy, the mayhem and the peace. So important to see them all as gifts and opportunities to remember the love that is always present when we choose to see it.
Thank you for reminding me to see the love everywhere today my friend.
Much Love Suzy x
Yes to all of this this . . . thank you for sharing this path with me, Suzy - very grateful for you! 🙏🙏
…so helpful 🙏
Love this. “What would the world look like if you did not judge it? How would you feel?
In this slow, sometimes frustrating process of letting go of ego and awakening to the Holy Spirit, I find these two questions really helpful to think about. It’s so interesting to think that the rush to judgment seems to be unconsciously driven by a misguided belief that judgment will make us feel better about ourselves, when in actuality, if we stop for a moment and really examine how judgment “feels”, well…it feels pretty yucky.
And my gosh, what would the world look like if I and everyone else didn’t judge it? It would be pretty beautiful. Judgment seems to be the most immediate pathway to the illusion of separation. I am better than you, I am worse than you, I am this and you are that. When I can get quiet and really examine this kind of thinking, I see it for what it is - insanity. Thanks for sharing your thoughts Sean.
"Unconsciously driven by a misguided belief" feels like it could be an epitaph for the human species :) But giving attention to how judgment arises, what function it serves, and being open to something else feels very healing. It does also feel unnatural, at least at the beginning. Thanks for reading, Mark - I always resonate when you share. I'm glad we get to share this particular part of the way together.
~ Sean
I feel the same! I appreciate your insight around what can be a challenging text. As Ram Dass said - we’re all just walking each other home
Is this to say that inherent in Judgement/Judging is the identifying by name or label any thing or person? And if so, is this naming and labeling an activity of the Ego?
It's not a hill I would die on but yes - that is the suggestion. The judgment reflects the decision to be separate, and the name/label codifies the judgment.
I should add: anything in the context of separation can be used to undo separation, when honestly given to the Holy Spirit for that purpose. So language - which does in so many ways codify and reify separation - can also be turned to its undoing. An example of that would be a poem in which the writer explores all the ways one can name flowers and know flowers before coming to the realization that being - which is love - does not actually require all that. The poem - which is language - becomes a pointer to what is beyond language, or before language - what can perhaps can not be touched by language. On this view, the care and precision that go into the poem's making - ensuring that its readers will be gently led beyond the name to that which transcends names - is a form of love, itself a reflection of that which transcends names.
I have been very lucky in my teachers, Susan . . . 🙏❤️