VII. The Body as a Means of Communication, P12
12 To communicate is to join and to attack is to separate. How can you do both simultaneously with the same thing and not suffer? Perception of the body can be unified only by one purpose. This releases the mind from the temptation to see the body in many lights, and gives it over entirely to the One Light in which it can be really understood. To confuse a learning device with a curriculum goal is a fundamental confusion that blocks the understanding of both. Learning must lead beyond the body to the re-establishment of the power of the mind in it. This can be accomplished only if the mind extends to other minds, and does not arrest itself in its extension. This arrest is the cause of all illness, because only extension is the mind’s function.
Jesus tells us that to communicate is to join and to attack is to separate. I was talking to a friend about something that was happening in her life. She was having problems with her family and this was not a new thing for her. She often saw herself stuck in the same place, confused about what to do about it. And she eventually comes to me to talk about it.
Here is what happens in my mind. I wonder why she asks me for help when she has no intention of listening to me. I think she should let this problem go finally. I can’t see why she wants to hold onto it because it is so painful to her and the solution is so simple. I wonder what I am supposed to say this time that would make a difference. I wonder if I will have time to eat lunch before my next appointment.
That is the ego chatter that I hear going on in my mind. That is attack and attack is separation. When I think like this and when I believe my thoughts, the mind is arresting itself at the body. I am this body, and this body has interests apart from that other body. It judges and resents, and is impatient. In doing these things, the body is made sick, because the mind misuses it.
At one time this seemed perfectly normal to me. In fact, I couldn’t imagine seeing it differently. I looked at someone else and really saw someone else. Now I cannot imagine looking at someone else and not knowing, at least on some level, that there is no one else. There is only the Son of God and we are all part of the Son.
When my friend called me to rehash the same tired old problem, I heard the thoughts in my mind and I completely disregarded them. It was like someone left the TV on in the other room. I could hear it, but I had no interest in it. I listened to my friend. I reminded her of the truth. I loved her. I knew that it doesn’t matter how many times she needs to look at that problem. She will look at it until she is ready to let it go and how long it takes is a non-issue.
I will play my part as listener and I will let the Holy Spirit speak through me as the reminder she came to receive. In my patience and my love and my willingness to play my part, and in my willingness to see my friend as part of my self, I am allowing the mind to extend past the body. I am joining and so I am communicating. I am communicating with words but that is not the important part. I am communicating through my willingness to allow love to flow between us unimpeded by a need for anything to be different than it is.
© Copyright 2014, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
You may freely share copies of this with your friends, provided this notice is included.
Has this page been helpful to you?
Your contribution in support of this site is greatly appreciated. To make a tax deductible contribution or become a member online, go to http://www.pathwaysoflight.org/polshop/home.php?cat=254.
Or send a check or money order to Pathways of Light, 6 Oak Court, Ormond Beach, FL 32174-2623 (USD only, please) Thank you for your support.