Lesson 5: I am never upset for the reason I think.

Jan '24 (edited) • Feed

🧩 FORM VS CONTENT - OUTSIDE VS INSIDE

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This is such a powerful lesson! Many forms of upset are perceived as different, but Jesus tells us that they are not:

"However, until you learn that form does not matter, each form becomes a proper subject for the exercises for the day. ⁶Applying the same idea to each of them separately is the first step in ultimately recognizing they are all the same." (ACIM, W-5.1:5-6)

We are therefore invited to apply the lesson without any discrimination as to the objects or thoughts to which it applies. All are suitable subjects for today's lesson, until we learn that form is irrelevant to the content it represents:

There are many forms (here, many upsets)
BUT one content of guilt OR one content of love

So this lesson will help us realize as our training progresses that we're not upset by what we see on the outside, but by the content of guilt we hold within us. This guilt is sometimes obvious but more often than not, it is hidden, repressed, unconscious.

🧩 I AM → ALWAYS ← UPSET BECAUSE I FEEL SOME UNCONSCIOUS GUILT

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I'm NEVER upset for the reason I think.

I am ALWAYS upset because I feel an unconscious guilt at having separated myself from the Source.

Having rejected God, I feel guilty and I run away from Him, because a fault necessarily entails a corrective punishment. Since this idea (of guilt and punishment) terrifies me and is intolerable, I choose to project the fault outside myself, so as to proclaim my innocence and see a brother, a sister, a system, an organization, take the blame for me.

And the whole system of indoctrination that Jesus mentions in his commentary (through Tina in A Year of Forgiveness), a system that we've all been through, conditions us to see things this way, to identify the sources of our upsets outside ourselves. To seek sympathy for our misfortunes.

This is a key concept of the Course that many students struggle with because none of us remember this mythical act of defiance against God. This infamous act is just an image of course, but the Course uses it because we very much feel its effects and have a long tradition of a vengeful God to clear from our collective (un)consciousness.

🧩 ALL UPSETS, BIG OR SMALL, BRING US BACK TO THIS ORIGINAL GUILT REGARDLESS OF THEIR FORMS

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"There are no small upsets. ⁴They are all equally disturbing to my peace of mind." (ACIM, W-5.4:3-4)

Jesus warns us here against the temptation to rank our upsets. This goes along with one of the great principles of the Course, there is no hierarchy of illusions or the sameness of all illusions.

Every upset is an illusion of separation designed to veil our guilt, whatever degree of severity we attribute to it. An illusion is an illusion is an illusion... Hence the importance of respecting the repeatedly highlighted recommendation of generalization and non-discrimination (in the application of the lesson).

The Course and the lessons will gradually help us to recognize this guilt. Jesus will show us how to free ourselves from the weight of it by teaching us how to forgive our illusions.

🧩 OUR ATTACHMENT TO OUR UPSETS

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This is one of the many revelations of the Course: WE WANT TO BE UPSET because it proves that we are victims, and this idea allows us to evade the question of our original sense of guilt.

It's more comfortable to blame the outside world, so we're particularly attached to some forms of upsets, even if we're ready to let go of others. We all have these grudges that we are not quite ready to let go. Some sad stories that we can't help but tell when we present ourselves to the world. We are so very protective of them. And while they efficiently help us keep our face of innocence, they are just as efficiently keeping us prisoner in the victimization loop.

But to see the truth, we must recognize that ALL illusions are false, and acknowledge them as EQUALLY false.

"I cannot keep this form of upset and let the others go. ⁴For the purposes of these exercises, then, I will regard them all as the same." (ACIM, W-5.6:3-4)

While this is bad news for our ego, there is good news for our peace of mind should we be ready to claim it back. Because there is no hierarchy of illusions...

"There is no order of difficulty in miracles. ²One is not “harder” or “bigger” than another. ³They are all the same. ⁴All expressions of love are maximal." (ACIM, T-1.I.1:1-4)

Just like all expressions of guilt are maximal and all upsets equal. This takes us back to our first point. There is always only one content of guilt OR one content of love. Our willingness to release all of our upsets is our ascension ladder. Our insistence that even one of them is too big to be forgiven is our downfall.

🧩 ITEMS OF ATTENTION:

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🎯 Renewed recommendation for non-discrimination

🎯 The uncomfortable necessity of total honesty: only we can acknowledge in our heart and consciousness which are the grudges and wounds we keep holding on to... Which sad circumstances we insist are responsible for our state of mind. Deep down, most of us know that they are excuses. But we'd rather lie to the world and our own face than recognize that we are the ones keeping ourselves small. We'd rather like to be right and miserable than to be wrong and shake the embarrassment. Me the first, lol!

🎯 Is there any part of us that needs love and compassion, today? While we try to exert radical honesty, it doesn't follow that we should be harsh on ourselves. We are, after all, always doing to best we can with our current level of awareness, and sometimes there is hardship. So it is important to always check, can we get out of victim mode AND meet ourselves with lovingkindness?

💪 CHALLENGE:

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Would you consider sharing in the comment which upset or sad story you are aware of holding on to? Would you share it in an affirmation that you are no longer willing to use that as an excuse to lose your peace of mind and keep yourself small? If you read these stories in the comments, please send some love 🙂 🙏 🐼 💕

💫💙💫 Have a wonderful day! 💫💙💫

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* My comment on this lesson follows my studying of the in-depth comment of the same lesson by Kenneth Wapnick in his published work, Journey through the Workbook of "A Course in Miracles". While it may sometimes contain my thoughts on it, it is essentially my humble take and summary of the masterful work of Kenneth. I share them here in the hope that someone might find them helpful.

** I also share, in these ACIM posts, the wallpaper images that I use on my phone and change every day to help me commit to my lesson, in the hope that some might enjoy them as well. Here is the link to a Dropbox folder where you can download the lessons's wallpaper for mobile I have uploaded so far.

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