Questions Regarding the
Teachings of ACIM
QUESTION: "Do I retain my ego after I die"?
ANSWER: First, let me point out that this is a loaded question, or more accurately, a statement masquerading as a question.
Another example of such a question is, "How did the separation occur?" This is really not a question. It is a statement of current belief in the form of a question intended to reinforce current belief. Because the separation never occurred, the question is irrelevant and renders it impossible to answer.
There are three built-in erroneous assumptions in the originally stated question: a) that the ego at one time actually is, or was, real and actually existed, b) that we actually die, and c) that you have an individual or personal, ego.
Before I attempt to answer what I believe to be the intended question, let us work backwards through the erroneous assumptions (premises) that render the question impossible to answer.
Let's start with the idea of a personal or individual ego. Our commonly held concept of a personal ego is purely a Freudian idea, and most Course students already recognize that the Course uses a completely different explanation of the ego. In the Course version from the Foundation for Inner Peace, there is only one reference in the Course that refers to "my ego" ...it is contained in workbook lesson 82 which is a review of lesson 64. There is also only one reference to "your ego" in workbook lesson 38. edition search edition search
In contrast, there are 116 references to "the ego" in the text, 5 in the workbook, and 6 in the clarification of terms.
However, in the Course in Miracles Society [CIMS] edition, the count is significantly different. "Your ego" has 44 references. "My ego" has 1 reference, and "the ego" has 153. Naturally this triggered inquiry into why each reference is used...'the ego', 'my ego' and 'your ego', and their implications. edition search
Here are some key phrases from the CIMS edition that seem to support the conclusion I will present below.
"The essential thing to remember is that the ego does not recognize the real source of its perceived threat, and if you associate yourself with the ego, you do not perceive the whole situation as it is. Only your allegiance to it gives the ego any power over you."
"We have spoken of the ego as if it were a separate thing acting on its own. This was necessary to persuade you that you cannot dismiss it lightly and must realize how much of your thinking is ego-directed."
"The ego is nothing more than a part of your belief about yourselves."
"The ratio of repression and dissociation varies with the individual ego-illusion..."
"The rewards of God, however, are immediately recognized as eternal. Since this recognition is made by you and not the ego, the recognition itself establishes that you and your ego cannot be identical. You may believe that you have already accepted the difference, but you are by no means convinced as yet. The very fact that you are preoccupied with the idea of escaping from the ego shows this.
"You cannot escape from the ego by humbling it or controlling it or punishing it. Remember that the ego and the Soul do not know each other. The separated mind cannot maintain the separation except by dissociating. Having done this, it utilizes repression against all truly natural impulses, not because the ego is a separate thing, but because you want to believe that you are. The ego is a device for maintaining this belief, but it is still only your willingness to use the device that enables it to endure."
After careful study, I do not under any circumstances accept this as a contradiction in statement. I believe that these passages clearly demonstrate that there are no separate egos. The idea of my or your ego are erroneous, but the phrases are used by the Holy Spirit to demonstrate our belief, or temporary acceptance, of separate egos.
Now, let's visit that silly 'death' idea. The Course states clearly, irrevocably, and unambiguously that "There is no death". That does not mean that we do not go through what we commonly refer to as 'a death experience'. What we are observing is 'the apparent end of animation' of the body. The Course, in the midst of a dissertation on anger says, "There is little doubt that one body can assault another, and can even destroy it. Yet if destruction itself is impossible, anything that is destructible cannot be real". We are, indeed, seeing the apparent end of the animation of the body, which WE have defined as death. What is actually occurring at that 'moment' is a transition in our experience of existence; from the mortal, and limited, to the immortal, infinite, and limitless. We will tie this idea in again later in the article. Further consider this from the Manual for Teachers".
"Teacher of God, your one assignment could be stated thus: accept no compromise in which death plays a part. Do not believe in cruelty nor let attack conceal the truth from you. What seems to die has but been misperceived and carried to illusion. Now it becomes your task to let the illusion be brought to the truth. Be steadfast but in this; be not deceived by the "reality" of any changing form. Truth neither moves nor wavers nor sinks down to death and dissolution. And what is the end of death? Nothing but this: the realization that the Son of God is guiltless now and forever. Nothing but this. But do not let yourself forget it is not less than this."
|
|
[CONTINUED from the CIMS eMAGAZINE]
I am going to reiterate two ideas that are critical to understanding what is, and is not actually happening in any given circumstance. Holding these two ideas firmly in the mind will help clarify many of the disparities between what we currently believe is real (our current experience), and what is actually real (TRUTH).
Your life is determined by TRUTH (even if you do not believe it). Your experience of life is determined by what you believe (even if it is false).
What you believe is true, is true for YOU.
The latter statement clearly seems in direct conflict with all the teaching of the Course pertaining to the Laws of Chaos; specifically maintaining that Truth IS the same for everyone. The point of my statement is that we are making something true for us only by our belief in it. Belief is a powerful thing, and it has no power over Truth, but it has a dramatic, and often negative and long-lasting, impact on our experience, albeit, temporary.
And finally, let us examine with the aide of the Course, what the ego actually is, or is not. The clearest, and again, totally unambiguous definition of the ego, comes from two sources; the Clarification of Terms and the Workbook Lessons.
In the Clarification of terms, we read, "What is the ego? What the darkness was. Where is the ego? Where the darkness was. What is it now and where can it be found? Nothing and nowhere. Now the light has come: Its opposite has gone without a trace. Where evil was there now is holiness. What is the ego? What the evil was. Where is the ego? In an evil dream that but seemed real while you were dreaming it. Where there was crucifixion stands God's Son. What is the ego? Who has need to ask? Where is the ego? Who has need to seek for an illusion now that dreams are gone?"
The workbook puts it this way.
What is the Ego?
1 The ego is idolatry-the sign of limited and separated self, born in a body, doomed to suffer and to end its life in death. It is the will that sees the Will of God as enemy and takes a form in which It is denied. The ego is the "proof" that strength is weak and love is fearful, life is really death, and what opposes God alone is true.
2 The ego is insane. In fear it stands beyond the Everywhere, apart from All, in separation from the Infinite. In its insanity it thinks it has become a victor over God Himself, and in its terrible autonomy, it "sees" the Will of God has been destroyed. It dreams of punishment and trembles at the figures in its dreams, its enemies who seek to murder it before it can ensure its safety by attacking them.
3 The Son of God is egoless. What can he know of madness and the death of God when he abides in Him? What can he know of sorrow and of suffering when he lives in eternal joy? What can he know of fear and punishment, of sin and guilt, of hatred and attack when all there is surrounding him is everlasting peace, forever conflict-free and undisturbed in deepest silence and tranquillity?
4 To know Reality is not to see the ego and its thoughts, its works, its acts, its laws and its beliefs, its dreams, its hopes, its plans for its salvation, and the cost belief in it entails. In suffering, the price for faith in it is so immense that crucifixion of the Son of God is offered daily at its darkened shrine and blood must flow before the altar where its sickly followers prepare for death.
5 Yet will one lily of forgiveness change the darkness into light, the altar to illusions to the shrine of Life Itself. And peace will be restored forever to the holy minds which God created as His Son, His dwelling-place, His joy, His love, completely His, completely one with Him.
[A Course in Miracles - Original Edition]
So now what? With no ego, no death, and no body, what is the essence of the question for which we were seeking an answer? Try this one on for size. What is left of ME after I leave the body? Or perhaps this one. Do all the things I believed were part of me...thoughts, my memories, my sense of uniqueness...continue beyond the transition I called death?
Please make careful note that I am using the word unique, in the sense of one of a kind, and not special, in the sense of comparison. Maybe we can summarize this uniqueness into a single word...personality. Another word that also fits the bill but might seem less aligned with the ego, is individuality. If you are more comfortable with one word over the other, feel free to use the word of your choice.
One personal definition of the ego that I have used in the past and may offer some clarity is, "A sense of existence apart from God."
The Urantia Book (a) has this interesting thought on the word, personality. "Personality is never spontaneous; it is the gift of the Paradise Father."
And it also adds this definition:
"Personality. The personality of mortal man is neither body, mind, nor spirit; neither is it the soul. Personality is the one changeless reality in an otherwise ever-changing creature experience; and it unifies all other associated factors of individuality. The personality is the unique bestowal which the Universal Father makes upon the living and associated energies of matter, mind, and spirit, and which survives with the survival of the morontial soul.
Morontia is a term designating a vast level intervening between the material and the spiritual. It may designate personal or impersonal realities, living or nonliving energies. The warp of morontia is spiritual; its woof is physical."
The use of the word energy, which like the Course, is clearly a different in definition than we are used to, "Energy we use as an all-inclusive term applied to spiritual, mindal, and material realms." For many of us, at one point, we have thought of energy as something that is outside of and exclusive of the material.
Another phrase unique to the Urantia Book (UB) is "thought adjuster", which most UB readers equate in concept to the Holy Spirit. Any Course student readily recognizes that the job of the Holy Spirit is to help us change our minds...adjust our thinking. We all know many lessons in the workbook clearly make that point. Thus I believe the association between "Thought Adjuster" and "Holy Spirit" is clearly in order.
And finally I offer this,
"The evolutionary planets are the spheres of human origin, the initial worlds of the ascending mortal career. Urantia [Earth] is your starting point; here you and your divine Thought Adjuster [Holy Spirit] are joined in temporary union. You have been endowed with a perfect guide; therefore, if you will sincerely run the race of time and gain the final goal of faith, the reward of the ages shall be yours; you will be eternally united with your indwelling Adjuster. Then will begin your real life, the ascending life, to which your present mortal state is but the vestibule. Then will begin your exalted and progressive mission as finaliters in the eternity which stretches out before you. And throughout all of these successive ages and stages of evolutionary growth, there is one part of you that remains absolutely unaltered, and that is personality — permanence in the presence of change."
[Note: Brackets are mine for clarification. Also clearly note that these references from the Urantia Book are only offered as supplemental thought. It is clearly time we think (and search) outside our traditional boxes.]
Holding the essence of the above, I believe that personality, or individuality, is what God created (the gift)...unique and infinite in expression. We are different in many aspects, many of which are not necessarily associated with the ego. If I am correct, then it goes without saying, that which God created is eternal, and therefore does continue eternally. I will further conjecture that those aspects of our personality that God created, will remain as part of our eternal existence. But I also believe that those seeming external things and personal experiences (ego) from our seeming human existence that negatively influenced our development of an extended personality will be left behind, along with the illusion of the body, the ego, and separateness.
For an example of what I mean by positive personality traits, visit the Manual For Teachers and review the characteristics of a Teacher of God from Chapter 4; Trust, Honesty, Tolerance, Gentleness, Joy, Defenselessness, Generosity, Patience, Faithfulness and Open-mindedness. I see these as the eternal aspects of personality which we will retain. All else is left behind as unnecessary.
So, do I retain my ego? No, I don't think so. Not as we understand it. That never existed in the first place.
Do I take something with me, or does something of me exist after I "died"? Yes. I believe we retain those positive aspects of personality that were always part of us. Or if we use the Urantia Book idea, that our Self, represented by the eternal joining of our personality with our thought adjuster (the Holy Spirit) is what passes to what I will temporarily call, the next level.
Aside from the above characteristics from the Manual for Teachers, what else would you want or need to bring with you?
I am pretty sure by now, that it is clear that there is always something that we don't know that we don't know. There are always more questions to be asked, answers to be found, and knowledge to be gained. (A good reference to this point is contained in an earlier article called, "The Process of Learning", published in the CIMS newsletter 2012"CIMS newsletter in 2012) Knowledge is power, but I am referring to a Knowledge that transcends things that can be learned in books, or in a classroom. The Knowledge of which I speak is not academic, but spiritual.
Namaste.
If you would like to continue a deeper or personal discussion on this subject, just contact the author or arrange for a more in depth presentation for your group at your location. "Have Course, will travel".
Or we could expand on a deeper trek down the rabbit hole asking, "What happens next?" (An in depth look at the idea of reincarnation...its cause, purpose, and end.)
Written 02/15/12
Footnotes:
(a) The Urantia Book is a compilation of material that was channeled during the 1940's and precedes
"A Course in Miracles" by many years. By its own definition it claims to be "revealing the Mysteries of God, the Universe, Jesus, and Ourselves." I do not personally revere the content of the Urantia Book as I might the content of "A Course in Miracles", I do accept it as a legitimate source for complementary spiritual ideas. One can access the Urantia Book online for your own personal examination. I have sometimes referred to the Urantia Book as an "interesting history of the Illusory Universe".
|
* Once led to engage in full time ministr y as a Course teacher, Bob opted to become and independent non-denominational minister so that he could teach a pure version of ACIM without the need to satisfy any particular denominational tenets. Bob, originally from NY, now reside s in Southern California where he teaches in churches and home settings. More on Bob can be found on his http://www.rdsears.com
|
Course In Miracles Society
7602 Pacific Street, Suite 200
Omaha, NE 68114
800-771-5056
cims@jcim.net |
 |
|
