Wednesday, April 6, 2011

What Am I? What Are We?

I am on a spiritual journey through the physical universe. So are you. On this journey of many lifetimes, I have finally discovered what I really am.


This discovery of what I really am ranks as the most important discovery of my life. A Course in Miracles has helped me make this discovery. In fact, teaching me what I am is the very purpose of ACIM. 


Like most everyone, I have always believed myself to be a physical body, with a distinct personality and a chosen career. That's what I believed.


Since I held that belief, I spent most of my time taking care of the physical body and responding to its needs, from the moment I awoke each morning until going back to bed at night. I believed what my eyesight and other senses seemed to be telling me. The ever-present threat of sickness, injury and even death seemed to confirm my existence as a physical body.


But I was mistaken! A physical body is not what I am.


What, then, am I? Indeed, what are we?


I am a divine spiritual being. That's what I am. That's my true identity. I am that which we normally call the soul or higher self, with none of the limitations we experience in a physical body. As ACIM teaches, I am a Son of God. We are all collectively the Son of God. All things created by God are divine.


It turns out that the physical body is nothing more than an illusion. The ego created this illusion in an attempt to separate us from God and each other. The ego wants us to continue to believe that we are physical bodies, weak and frail and condemned to die.


Yes, I know this idea is hard to believe. The idea that we are physical bodies is deeply ingrained in us. The five senses have always told us so. But the truth is: We created this physical illusion and then forgot we created it. To be without a physical body is our normal state.


Just as the physical body is an illusion, so too is this world we live in and, indeed, the entire physical universe. A central teaching of ACIM is that this world is not real. We created this universe in an attempt to separate ourselves from God, in an act which the Bible calls "the fall of man." The entire physical universe is nothing more than a projection of our collective mind.


Our consciousness is currently focused here in this physical world, but we are not really here. Earth is not our real home. As ACIM says, we are "somewhere else." We are actually still in Heaven, dreaming we are having this physical experience. We are not, and never have been, separate from God or each other.


Even though this physical illusion is not real, it nonetheless serves a purpose. Believing I am here in a physical body and a physical world affords me unique learning opportunities that help me evolve as a spiritual being.


But I have been deceiving myself long enough. I have been lost in a physical illusion for too many lifetimes. At long last, I am awakening to the truth of what I really am. As a result, I can now experience genuine peace and joy for the first time here in physicality.

1 comment:

  1. Very well written Roy. The truth flows from you in a way that is easy to understand. I would agree with what you say and hope that all who visit here take the time to study these words. If there is something that rings true to you then perhaps you too would benefit from the study of A Course in Miracles. We are all getting around to it sometime so why not now? Once you begin you will find many to help you with your journey here at Quest and in Spirit.
    God Bless
    Sister Kathleen

    ReplyDelete