One of the reasons I love the Course is that it is so extreme. It goes straight to the logical conclusion of things and lays them bare for us to really see if we're brave enough, and it does take courage, imo. I appreciate it every time you explore the truths that our conditioning/ego doesn't want us to think about. Now, if we can only remember not to get angry at ourselves when we get angry! Love and best wishes to you, Sean.
Thank you Nancy! It's nice to hear from you. One of the things that really resonated for me when I began to study the course was how deeply radical it was - and how vast the potential for change that it imagines is possible is. And yes, trying to get down into the mud - not to wallow or linger or suffer but to heal - is an ongoing challenge.
Thank you, too, for referencing the importance of self-love and self-care. We really do have to be gentle with ourselves - there's no other way to be present and gentle with others.
It was interesting to watch my reactions as I read your article on anger, there was a resistance via a contraction in the body to hang on the anger. I have used anger for so many years as protection. A sincere question arose from what seemed like a child's voice within, "how will I be safe without anger?". Thank you as always for your articles they are a wonderful tool to help me notice trapped beliefs. The seeing of beliefs that linger and no longer serve is the gift, "I need do nothing". 🙏
Thank you, Glenda, and you're welcome. I appreciate the close read - especially tracking the feelings of resistance. That is a big part of my practice - noticing the subtle patterns and rhythms BEFORE they escalate.
And yes - absolutely. Anger presents as a reasonable defense against a hostile external world. It's very hard to get past that. One might even say it takes a miracle :)
Once again, you have been able to nudge that pain in my neck in a comforting way. Especially coming on Oct 7, I am better prepared today to honor the memory of those who have lost so much on BOTH sides...Thank you Sean for sharing your insights so beautifully. Reading your post today feels like a massage for my emotions combined with a warm cup of tea.
You're welcome, Monalisa. I'm glad the post was helpful. Finding the way to peace is a shared journey - I'm very grateful for you and others who so patiently travel with me 🙏🙏
Beautiful Sean! And perfect timing with what we seem to be dealing with daily. It brings some very personal help to me, for someone who I’ve allowed to rile me on the subject of spirituality is nigh. I repeat lessons to myself, and I try to just let my anxiety and anger pass. But now, I feel guided to look at my anxiety and anger as you suggest. Thank you
You're welcome, Fran. It is so so hard to move from blame to non-judgment - of others but also of ourselves. I hear you. There is something about surrender, about just looking at the situation without trying to fix it - just giving attention, being as open as possible - that has been helpful for me. It feels miraculous in the sense that "I" don't do it but it's there to be done. It's almost like a happier, gentler and more forgiving self is hidden in me and my work is to gently call that being - that way of being - out into the world. I have to remind myself a lot not to give up!
Thanks for being here and for sharing. I'm glad we can share this path together.
You're welcome, April - I'm glad it was helpful. Yes - good point - our grievances and anger are not separate (and both are rooted in the illusion of a separate and vulnerable self) 🙏🙏
This post is so meaningful to me Sean. I think I will read it multiple times. I had to laugh when you wrote: "You insult Emily Dickinson...." that is so funny. In the same and next paragraph you write:
"Anger says - ego says - I've been harmed, and you did it, and now it's time to right the wrong, avenge my honor, reclaim my property, et cetera.
But the Holy Spirit introduces an interval in that pattern. Or, if you prefer, the Holy Spirit is an interval in that pattern. In that moment, I remember that anger is a clue (a symbol, a symptom, a sign) that my value system is misfiring because a couple of turtles down I've bought into mind/body dualism. I've confused myself with a body, with God, with God's favorite son, et cetera."
WOW that is so well said and explained. This is what ACIM says and where we work with when we follow this path, but to see it explained here now by you and especially the moment I read it is fantastic. I needed this.
You say you circle back to anger often. I think that is completely healthy to work with this topic often. Sometimes for Course students it is difficult to get in touch with anger, especially your own anger. I have learned through the years to really get in touch with it. Even under mild irritation there is a flood of rage, but we are not aware of it. The why that is, is a very broad topic in and of itself and also addressed in the Course. Truth is, we have to look it in the eye, let it go with the Holy Spirit and step by step we walk this path of forgiveness. Please if you have more anger articles, don't hesitate to post them, they are very necessary. It is almost a taboo, you help to face it and to recognize we all have it in us, not one person excepted! Much love to you, Valentine
Thank you, Valentine. I appreciate those words very much. Yes, I can be sensitive about Emily Dickinson!!
More deeply, your last paragraph is so helpful and clear. I appreciate the reminder that even mild irritation masks a "flood of rage" (great phrase) - it connects back to the fundamental premise that there is no order of difficulty in miracles.
Finally I agree and appreciate that material which feels "taboo" is what we need to look at and go into - with the Holy Spirit and with one another, as we support each other in healing. We cannot do this work alone :)
Thank you so much for reading and being here - I"m very grateful.
Sean finding it hard to concentrate on this post to really absorb it has made me ask why. Down the years I’ve spent searching for something I didn’t know what i was looking for,now I have seen the search was a form of anger fear is anger. Anyway I’m glad you are doing this i thank you for it. I know you are able to get at what I’m trying to say. Sean
Thanks Sean . . . I hope all is well on your end. Yes, our long search for meaning or truth or whatever is really in the end just a cry for love. We want to be home and our only problem is we don't realize we are. It's frustrating but also encouraging because the answer is with us and together we can hear it. Thanks for being here, Sean.
Uncompromising. That is what I like about the course. Your post helped me remember that EVERY grievance has to go, even when unjust situations cost you money. "And this too will pass". Thanks for your great posts.
Thank you so much for your thoughts and invitation, Sean. I recall a moment in August where my anger flared at my brother and caught me so much by surprise. Your writing helps me see in a new way. I see how personal I made something he said. It was indeed my cry for help, as I didn’t see things as they were in truth. I can also see how taking my anger as my responsibility allows me to seek out the resting in the learning interval. I’m so grateful for the invitation of ACIM to practice the truth in a felt, visceral and experienced way. It is a game-changer for my cerebral grasp that has kept me stagnant in my understanding. I’m so interesting in the holy relationship and looking forward to reading more. Ah! Such good stuff!
You're welcome, Denise. Thank you for reading and sharing. It's a funny balance - understanding and practice. I think for a long time I felt like what mattered was intellectual grasp - and it DOES matter, but mostly in terms of how we bring it into application. The "dream" is so full of opportunities and invitations to seek holiness over specialness! It helps me sometimes to think of it as a game we are all playing but not all of know it's a game. And the only way to "win" is if everybody wins. So the work becomes cooperative and collaborative - how do we work together to make it possible for everyone to be happy, loving and safe?
Part of the answer is this - just being present to one another as we try to do better in our lives, and so I am so so grateful that we get to share this path and figure this out together.
One of the reasons I love the Course is that it is so extreme. It goes straight to the logical conclusion of things and lays them bare for us to really see if we're brave enough, and it does take courage, imo. I appreciate it every time you explore the truths that our conditioning/ego doesn't want us to think about. Now, if we can only remember not to get angry at ourselves when we get angry! Love and best wishes to you, Sean.
Thank you Nancy! It's nice to hear from you. One of the things that really resonated for me when I began to study the course was how deeply radical it was - and how vast the potential for change that it imagines is possible is. And yes, trying to get down into the mud - not to wallow or linger or suffer but to heal - is an ongoing challenge.
Thank you, too, for referencing the importance of self-love and self-care. We really do have to be gentle with ourselves - there's no other way to be present and gentle with others.
Thanks again for being here, Nancy 🙏🙏
~ Sean
It was interesting to watch my reactions as I read your article on anger, there was a resistance via a contraction in the body to hang on the anger. I have used anger for so many years as protection. A sincere question arose from what seemed like a child's voice within, "how will I be safe without anger?". Thank you as always for your articles they are a wonderful tool to help me notice trapped beliefs. The seeing of beliefs that linger and no longer serve is the gift, "I need do nothing". 🙏
Thank you, Glenda, and you're welcome. I appreciate the close read - especially tracking the feelings of resistance. That is a big part of my practice - noticing the subtle patterns and rhythms BEFORE they escalate.
And yes - absolutely. Anger presents as a reasonable defense against a hostile external world. It's very hard to get past that. One might even say it takes a miracle :)
Thanks again Glenda 🙏🙏
~Sean
Once again, you have been able to nudge that pain in my neck in a comforting way. Especially coming on Oct 7, I am better prepared today to honor the memory of those who have lost so much on BOTH sides...Thank you Sean for sharing your insights so beautifully. Reading your post today feels like a massage for my emotions combined with a warm cup of tea.
You're welcome, Monalisa. I'm glad the post was helpful. Finding the way to peace is a shared journey - I'm very grateful for you and others who so patiently travel with me 🙏🙏
~ Sean
Beautiful Sean! And perfect timing with what we seem to be dealing with daily. It brings some very personal help to me, for someone who I’ve allowed to rile me on the subject of spirituality is nigh. I repeat lessons to myself, and I try to just let my anxiety and anger pass. But now, I feel guided to look at my anxiety and anger as you suggest. Thank you
You're welcome, Fran. It is so so hard to move from blame to non-judgment - of others but also of ourselves. I hear you. There is something about surrender, about just looking at the situation without trying to fix it - just giving attention, being as open as possible - that has been helpful for me. It feels miraculous in the sense that "I" don't do it but it's there to be done. It's almost like a happier, gentler and more forgiving self is hidden in me and my work is to gently call that being - that way of being - out into the world. I have to remind myself a lot not to give up!
Thanks for being here and for sharing. I'm glad we can share this path together.
~ Sean
Thank you Sean. I'm working on letting go of grievances and your writing today showed me that even a tiny grievance has its root in anger.
You're welcome, April - I'm glad it was helpful. Yes - good point - our grievances and anger are not separate (and both are rooted in the illusion of a separate and vulnerable self) 🙏🙏
~ Sean
Sean
Thanks Today will be a better day.
Jack T❤️🙏
Thanks Jack - good to hear from you - thanks for the reminder 🙏🙏
~ Sean
This post is so meaningful to me Sean. I think I will read it multiple times. I had to laugh when you wrote: "You insult Emily Dickinson...." that is so funny. In the same and next paragraph you write:
"Anger says - ego says - I've been harmed, and you did it, and now it's time to right the wrong, avenge my honor, reclaim my property, et cetera.
But the Holy Spirit introduces an interval in that pattern. Or, if you prefer, the Holy Spirit is an interval in that pattern. In that moment, I remember that anger is a clue (a symbol, a symptom, a sign) that my value system is misfiring because a couple of turtles down I've bought into mind/body dualism. I've confused myself with a body, with God, with God's favorite son, et cetera."
WOW that is so well said and explained. This is what ACIM says and where we work with when we follow this path, but to see it explained here now by you and especially the moment I read it is fantastic. I needed this.
You say you circle back to anger often. I think that is completely healthy to work with this topic often. Sometimes for Course students it is difficult to get in touch with anger, especially your own anger. I have learned through the years to really get in touch with it. Even under mild irritation there is a flood of rage, but we are not aware of it. The why that is, is a very broad topic in and of itself and also addressed in the Course. Truth is, we have to look it in the eye, let it go with the Holy Spirit and step by step we walk this path of forgiveness. Please if you have more anger articles, don't hesitate to post them, they are very necessary. It is almost a taboo, you help to face it and to recognize we all have it in us, not one person excepted! Much love to you, Valentine
Thank you, Valentine. I appreciate those words very much. Yes, I can be sensitive about Emily Dickinson!!
More deeply, your last paragraph is so helpful and clear. I appreciate the reminder that even mild irritation masks a "flood of rage" (great phrase) - it connects back to the fundamental premise that there is no order of difficulty in miracles.
Finally I agree and appreciate that material which feels "taboo" is what we need to look at and go into - with the Holy Spirit and with one another, as we support each other in healing. We cannot do this work alone :)
Thank you so much for reading and being here - I"m very grateful.
~ Sean
Grateful for being here with you too Sean....and I am so looking forward to all the future explorations ! Love to you, Valentine💖
Sean finding it hard to concentrate on this post to really absorb it has made me ask why. Down the years I’ve spent searching for something I didn’t know what i was looking for,now I have seen the search was a form of anger fear is anger. Anyway I’m glad you are doing this i thank you for it. I know you are able to get at what I’m trying to say. Sean
Thanks Sean . . . I hope all is well on your end. Yes, our long search for meaning or truth or whatever is really in the end just a cry for love. We want to be home and our only problem is we don't realize we are. It's frustrating but also encouraging because the answer is with us and together we can hear it. Thanks for being here, Sean.
~ Sean
Uncompromising. That is what I like about the course. Your post helped me remember that EVERY grievance has to go, even when unjust situations cost you money. "And this too will pass". Thanks for your great posts.
Robyn
That's it!! Thanks for being here, Robyn.
~ Sean
Thank you so much for your thoughts and invitation, Sean. I recall a moment in August where my anger flared at my brother and caught me so much by surprise. Your writing helps me see in a new way. I see how personal I made something he said. It was indeed my cry for help, as I didn’t see things as they were in truth. I can also see how taking my anger as my responsibility allows me to seek out the resting in the learning interval. I’m so grateful for the invitation of ACIM to practice the truth in a felt, visceral and experienced way. It is a game-changer for my cerebral grasp that has kept me stagnant in my understanding. I’m so interesting in the holy relationship and looking forward to reading more. Ah! Such good stuff!
You're welcome, Denise. Thank you for reading and sharing. It's a funny balance - understanding and practice. I think for a long time I felt like what mattered was intellectual grasp - and it DOES matter, but mostly in terms of how we bring it into application. The "dream" is so full of opportunities and invitations to seek holiness over specialness! It helps me sometimes to think of it as a game we are all playing but not all of know it's a game. And the only way to "win" is if everybody wins. So the work becomes cooperative and collaborative - how do we work together to make it possible for everyone to be happy, loving and safe?
Part of the answer is this - just being present to one another as we try to do better in our lives, and so I am so so grateful that we get to share this path and figure this out together.
~ Sean