Lesson 7: I see only the past.

Jan '24 (edited) • Feed

🧩 AN EQUATION TO KEEP IN MIND IN THE COURSE'S PRESENTATION OF TEMPORALITY

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In the first paragraph, we can all appreciate how Jesus is wrapping up the first five lessons as a logical consequence of the sixth. Kenneth Wapnick is inviting us to see why the question of the past is such a strong motivation for us to hold on to:

“The reason that nothing means anything, that we have given everything the meaning it has, etc., is that we are seeing only the past. Keeping in mind the equation of sin, guilt, and fear with past, present, and future will help you understand the motivation for seeing only the past. ”

Excerpt from Journey through the Workbook of "A Course in Miracles", Kenneth Wapnick, Vol. 1, p 25.

Past - Present - Future = Sin - Guilt - Fear

In the PAST: I have SINNED against my Creator in my choice for separation.
In the PRESENT: I feel GUILTY about what I have done.
In the FUTURE: I anticipate the retribution that is sure to come for my fault and that engenders FEAR in me.

We do not consciously think about this, but it makes a lot of sense, especially if we are familiar with the story of the tiny, mad idea. This equation is at the core of our (mis)perception when we identify with our split mind and listen to the voice of the ego. The implications of this fundamental equation (Kenneth names it the unholy trinity of sin, guilt, and fear), are indeed enormous. Because this guilt and fear and unbearable, we project it into an outside world where we can hide the source of the problem: I gave reality to the original sin which pushed me to project its responsibility outside myself, but, in so doing, protects my sense of identity by keeping me forevermore separated from God. The separation has taken place, it's real, I exist and everything around me proves it!

🧩 "I exist" (BASED ON PAST ASSOCIATIONS) VS "I am" (AS AN EVER-PRESENT AWARENESS)

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After a short but intriguing paragraph about our ideas about time...

"Old ideas about time are very difficult to change, because everything you believe is rooted in time, and depends on your not learning these new ideas about it. ²Yet that is precisely why you need new ideas about time. ³This first time idea is not really so strange as it may sound at first." (ACIM, W-7.2:1-3)

... Jesus loses no time in theoretical discussion and takes us to the very prosaic example of the cup. This is a significant step in our mind training because this is a demonstration of what self-inquiry is about and how important it is for us to learn how to question the supposedly obvious. In a casual, non-assuming way, Jesus is serving us enlightenment at the edge of our morning cup of whatever!

"What do you know about this cup except what you learned in the past? ⁶You would have no idea what this cup is, except for your past learning. ⁷Do you, then, really see it?" (ACIM, W-7.3:5-7)

Jesus is questioning the very way we perceive. This is the objective, stated explicitly and clearly in the introduction to the Workbook.

We can only emphasize the importance of this line of questioning by bringing on the distinction many teachers make between "existing" and "being". A bit of etymology is helpful here: "exist" from French exister, from Latin existō, exsistō (“appear, arise”), from ex (“out”) + sistere (“to set, place”). Time has to be in the picture for me to exist OUT of something else, here, as an entity separated from God.

What about our "timeless" experiences? Isn't it during our experience of communion, in the silence of our meditative inward explorations, in the ever-present of the now moment that we get to glimpse or abide in our " I am-ness"? "I am" with no strings attached, no story, no labels, or past associations of any kind...

The example of our upsets makes Jesus's point easy to understand. If Mary hadn't been bitten by a dog when she was five, she could nowadays meet any dog with curiosity and an open heart like an innocent new experience free of any judgment or coloration of any kind. But she had been bitten, it was a chaotic and dolorous experience. Now, whenever she meets one, even if she's thirty and a grown-up, she feels weary and on her guard. This is a silly example of how, by giving power to the past over our present, we maintain the conditions necessary for us to remain a separate entity in the present and future. A vulnerable creature, in need of defending, and potentially justified in attacking to protect our finite little self.

We could go on for ages... 🥱 But it's 2:39 am for me and we still have tomorrow! Wait... Do we? 🤔😵‍💫🤯

Hahahaha 😆🤣😂

🧩 ITEMS OF ATTENTION:

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🎯 Usual recommendation for non-discrimination

“Indiscriminateness in responding to the illusory world of perception remains the central focus of this early part of the workbook. It contains the means of undoing the ego’s thought system of separation, the essence of miracles: there is no order of difficulty among them (T-1.I.1:1).” Excerpt from Journey through the Workbook of "A Course in Miracles", Kenneth Wapnick, Vol. 1, p 26.

💙💫 May this Lesson find you in a cocoon of warmth and comfiness. I love you. 💫💙

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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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