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Study of Text, Chapter 11: V: The “Dynamics” of the Ego, P 8. 10-13-15

V. The “Dynamics” of the Ego, P 8
8 You must recognize that the last thing the ego wishes you to realize is that you are afraid of it. For if the ego could give rise to fear, it would diminish your independence and weaken your power. Yet its one claim to your allegiance is that it can give power to you. Without this belief you would not listen to it at all. How, then, can its existence continue if you realize that, by accepting it, you are belittling yourself and depriving yourself of power?

Journal
The way I have learned that the ego’s claim that it empowers me is false is to look at my life with the Holy Spirit, and see for myself how empty its promises. If I look with eyes open to the truth, I see that when something goes wrong, the ego offers solutions that never work. Its solutions will always be either projection or denial, and neither solution will be helpful.

If I deny the problem it sits in my mind slowly building momentum and then one day when I least expect it, it explodes out of me, often at the worst possible time. If I project the problem onto someone else and see them as guilty, I only increase guilt in myself because on some level I know this is not right, and I know that it is separation. Separation is not natural and so when I engage in separation thinking it causes anxiety. Projection teaches guilt, both to me and to others.

The reason the ego has fooled me in the past with its false promises of power is that both projection and denial are an attempt to distance myself from the problem. At first there is a sense of relief, and that makes me feel powerful. But the relief never lasts, because I have healed nothing, and when it fades I feel worse because I have added to my already burdened heart with more guilt.

A co-worker failed to follow up on a project I had turned in. I felt anger rising in me as I realized the repercussions of her carelessness. This is the ego idea of power. Now that I made her guilty, I can see myself as blameless and as a victim. I feel smarter than, more capable than. This is the ego power I have been given. Only it feels good for just a bit, and the problem remains, and I feel guilty for my attack on her. Thank goodness I did not verbalize the attack or I would have felt even worse.

Given to the Holy Spirit instead, my true power is revealed to me. I remember that the peace of God is everything I want, and my mind is soothed. I remember that I asked the Holy Spirit to be my memory, to make my plans and my decisions. The sudden and unbidden question, “What ever happened to that quote?” showed up because it needed to be asked.

I asked it and now the situation is corrected. I am at peace and the work is being done. It took no effort on my part. That is the power I want, not the ego sad excuse for power. Complete surrender is true power. Listening for the Voice that guides and comforts and heals is true power. Accepting the Atonement is true power. Forgiveness is true power. True power leads to one solution because there is one problem. For just a moment there I thought that my sister was my enemy. My choice for God reminded me that she is my self.

© 2015, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Posted by Rev. Myron Jones.

An Exciting Opportunity

I am a presenter in the MiracleShare video conference again this year. This is an opportunity to interact with me and other teachers through video and phone. The subject is Awakening through the Workbook, so I thought you might be interested. The way it works is that about 30 different teachers do a 30 minute video talking about some facet of the topic, and then for the next 30 minutes they answer questions via telephone. There are some really terrific teachers this year, some I am excited to watch, myself. I will be working during a lot of the conference (3 days) but when you sign up, you get access to all the teachings and I think the question and answer part, so you can watch at your convenience. The cost for this is very reasonable, around $80.00 I think. And you get to enjoy from the comfort of your home. If you are interested, here is a link to sign up. http://tinyurl.com/nhbnneq

© 2015, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Posted by Rev. Myron Jones.

Study of Text, Chapter 11: V: The “Dynamics” of the Ego, P 7. 10-12-15

V. The “Dynamics” of the Ego, P 7
7 The ego always attacks on behalf of separation. Believing it has the power to do this it does nothing else, because its goal of autonomy is nothing else. The ego is totally confused about reality, but it does not lose sight of its goal. It is much more vigilant than you are, because it is perfectly certain of its purpose. You are confused because you do not recognize yours.

Journal
The ego is more vigilant than I am because it is perfectly certain of its purpose, and I am not. Well, I suppose this is true, but not nearly as much as it used to be. I still lose sight of my purpose and get caught up in some ego drama, but I don’t stay in it. I see that I have moved away from my goal instead of toward it, and I ask Holy Spirit for help getting back on course.

Sometimes it takes awhile for me to accept the help given me. This happens when I believe that it is important for me to be right and it’s important for me to keep some ego belief. As Jesus has told us before, we believe that fear protects us, so sometimes I cling to what causes this fear. I think I need to defend myself so I think I need the tools to do that, tools like projection and denial. Sometimes it takes me awhile to realize what I am doing and why, but as soon as I do, I change my mind and return to trust.

It sounds funny to think that I need to aspire to be as vigilant as the ego, but I see that the ego never gets confused about what it wants, what it’s goals are, and what matters to it. I want this for myself, this absolute certainty. I want to reach a place in my healing where I never confuse safety with defense, or neediness with love, or material possessions with abundance.

I want to remember, always and in every circumstance, that the peace of God is everything I want. I want to be as vigilant for my awakening as the ego is for the illusion. So I practice every day, all day long, and even into the night as I ask Holy Spirit to take my sleep and use it on behalf of my awakening. It’s working, too. I am so grateful!

© 2015, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Posted by Rev. Myron Jones.

Study of Text, Chapter 11: V: The “Dynamics” of the Ego, P 6. 10-9-15

V. The “Dynamics” of the Ego, P 6
6 Yours is the independence of creation, not of autonomy. Your whole creative function lies in your complete dependence on God, Whose function He shares with you. By His willingness to share it, He became as dependent on you as you are on Him. Do not ascribe the ego’s arrogance to Him Who wills not to be independent of you. He has included you in His Autonomy. Can you believe that autonomy is meaningful apart from Him? The belief in ego autonomy is costing you the knowledge of your dependence on God, in which your freedom lies. The ego sees all dependency as threatening, and has twisted even your longing for God into a means of establishing itself. But do not be deceived by its interpretation of your conflict.

Journal
I had an interesting reaction to this paragraph. I felt reluctance to the idea that I must give up my independence and be completely dependent on God. It was interesting to me because I didn’t think that I would have that reaction. Well, it is an ego reaction, but I identified with it so it affects me. All that I can do with that is to give it to the Holy Spirit and ask Him to heal my mind of the desire to be independent of God, so that is what I did.

My favorite sentence is this one. “By His willingness to share it, He became as dependent on you as you are on Him.” How incredible that God gave of Himself like this in my creation. How different is this snapshot of God than the picture of Him that I have held for so long. When I think I must cling to my independence of God, I am picturing a grasping, jealous, maybe even evil, God, who would take from me this prized possession. But if God created so generously, so fearlessly, then I am wrong about Him, and wrong to be afraid of Him. If God is dependent on me then surely I am mistaken to think I must be independent of Him.

There is truth in my mind just behind all the ego thoughts. I long for my memory to return, and with it my awareness of God and His all encompassing love. I long to be as fearless as God, as generous, as loving. I am willing to let go of the idea that I am the ego or even that the ego is part of me. I am willing to see the ego as an idea in the mind and not one I am interested in. I am dedicated to this purpose.

© 2015, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Posted by Rev. Myron Jones.

Study of Text, Chapter 11, V.The “Dynamics” of the Ego, P 5. 10-8-15

V. The “Dynamics” of the Ego, P 5

5 Every idea has a purpose, and its purpose is always the natural outcome of what it is. Everything that stems from the ego is the natural outcome of its central belief, and the way to undo its results is merely to recognize that their source is not natural, being out of accord with your true nature. I said before that to will contrary to God is wishful thinking and not real willing. His Will is One because the extension of His Will cannot be unlike itself. The real conflict you experience, then, is between the ego’s idle wishes and the Will of God, which you share. Can this be a real conflict?

Journal
Nothing in this world can be real because it comes from the ego which is itself not real. Just as God creates through extension, the ego makes through projection. Both God’s creations are like Him and what the ego makes is like the ego. The part that is most important to me is that I am a creation of God so I am like Him. The ego did not make me so I am not like the ego. This is important to me because in my confusion, I sometimes assume that I am the ego thoughts in my mind.

I have those thoughts, but I am not those thoughts. I think that is why in an early lesson, Jesus refers to our thoughts this way: “The thoughts you think you think…” He describes it that way because those ego thoughts are not our real thoughts. Our real thoughts are the thoughts we think with God. All other thoughts are just wishes, and our wishes are not the same thing as our will. If we willed the ego stuff it would be real and we would really be in trouble.

We have a lot of strange wishes. Our ego thoughts are all about pain and suffering, even the ones that seem happy lead to pain and suffering. They must because they are out of accord with our true nature. I have a happy thought about my sweet children, and behind that thought is my fear for them. See how that works? Ego thoughts always by their nature lead to pain and suffering. And always, ultimately, they lead to death.

Because I am created in the image of God, as an extension of Himself, I have His Thoughts in my mind, and I have the ability to will as opposed to wish. My will is always going to be in alignment with God’s Will because I am created like Him. This is reason to rejoice. I can wish for fear and guilt, loss and lack, loneliness and sadness all day, and I can have an experience of anything I wish for. But I cannot will for them and so they are not real. I am safe.

© 2015, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Study of Text, Chapter 11: V: The “Dynamics” of the Ego, P 4. 10-7-15

V. The “Dynamics” of the Ego, P 4
4 When we look at the ego, then, we are not considering dynamics but delusions. You can surely regard a delusional system without fear, for it cannot have any effects if its source is not real. Fear becomes more obviously inappropriate if you recognize the ego’s goal, which is so clearly senseless that any effort on its behalf is necessarily expended on nothing. The ego’s goal is quite explicitly ego autonomy. From the beginning, then, its purpose is to be separate, sufficient unto itself and independent of any power except its own. This is why it is the symbol of separation.

Journal
The ego’s goal is ego autonomy, to be independent of any power except its own. This is why I am surrendered to the Higher Power. I am learning what it means to be fully surrendered as I do this practice. Coincidentally, I wrote about this in my Daily Lesson Journal this morning. I am learning to surrender my thoughts, my worries, my life.

I give this body to Jesus to use for the Atonement Plan. I go where I am directed to go, say what I am directed to say. I surrender this mind to the Holy Spirit to heal. I have stopped trying to control the monkey mind with all its nonsense chatter; I have simply surrendered it to the Holy Spirit Who knows what to do with it. When the idle chatter starts up with worries and defenses, I remember I am not interested in defending myself. I have surrendered myself and so this is no longer my business.

If the ego’s goal is to be autonomous, then the way out of separation is to surrender to the other Power. So that is what I am doing. I see that it must be full surrender, holding nothing back for my own use. It is those places in my life that I hesitate to surrender that I most need to surrender. They are the hooks that give the ego something to hold onto. Something that I notice is that the more completely I surrender, the more peaceful and happy I am.

© 2015, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Posted by Rev. Myron Jones.

Study of Text, Chapter 11: V: The “Dynamics” of the Ego, P 3. 10-6-15

V. The “Dynamics” of the Ego, P 3
3 Let us begin this lesson in “ego dynamics” by understanding that the term itself does not mean anything. It contains the very contradiction in terms that makes it meaningless. “Dynamics” implies the power to do something, and the whole separation fallacy lies in the belief that the ego has the power to do anything. The ego is fearful to you because you believe this. Yet the truth is very simple:
All power is of God.
What is not of Him has no power to do anything.

Journal
It is very easy to fall into old habits and project the cause of our behavior on the ego, and instead of believing the devil made us do it; we believe the ego makes us behave so badly. But as Jesus tells us, the ego has no power to make anything, to do anything, much less to control the Son of God. The ego is nothing to fear. It is a straw tiger, an image of power, but really nothing at all.

The belief that through the ego we have made something real and bad is the source of our guilt and fear, and the reason we hesitate to return Home. But if the ego is the source of the world we made, and the ego has no power and cannot do anything, then nothing has happened. We simply have thoughts that take form in our mind and play out an idea for us to consider. That we “feel” while we have this experience is pretty cool, but doesn’t make it real. The ego does not have the power to do anything so nothing has happened, and therefore, there is no cause for guilt and fear.

When the Course tells us that forgiveness is our function here, what it means is that we are to forgive the idea that anything has happened to forgive. All power is of God. The ego has no power to do anything. Nothing has happened in spite of all the dramas we have imagined. There is literally, nothing to forgive.

I forgive the world for what I thought I made of it. I forgive the characters in my dream for what I thought I directed them to do. I forgive the imagined attacks on myself and others. I forgive myself for believing in any of this. I forgive myself for imagining it. How could imagination be a sin? Imagination is not reality so nothing has been done to forgive.

In a way, forgiveness is a joke. We played a joke on ourselves in order to have an experience that we could not have. God provided us with a joke that would help us undo it. The joke is that there is a world and that we are separate bodies living in this world. It’s a joke because it is not real. God’s joke, designed to walk us out of the joke we made up, is that we forgive it. It’s a joke because there is nothing to forgive, being only an imagined experience anyway. When we get Home we will have a big laugh together with our Father.

© 2015, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
You may freely share copies of this with your friends, provided this notice is included.