“This world you seem to live in is not home to you. And somewhere in your mind you know that this is true.”   …ACIM

If you can accept the idea that life is eternal, then a question must probe your sense of reason, which is: It seems that no one can remain in this world for much more than a century; so how can it be a permanent home to me? 

It seems to me that for anyone who believes life is  eternal, a physical and temporary body dwelling in a physical and temporary world makes no sense at all. As the above quote reminds us, somewhere in your mind you know that this is true. 

I understand the belief most people have concerning some sort of an afterlife. About this the Course says: “The curious belief that there is part of dying things that may go on apart from what will die does not proclaim a loving God nor re-establish any grounds for trust. If death is real for anything, there is no life.”

“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.”   …Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

How many of us have looked up into a star-filled sky on a dark night and mumbled to ourselves; where did I come from; who am I; what am I? I know I have asked these questions many times whether I’m looking at the stars or just sitting still in a chair by myself. And it’s clear to me that anyone who has done this must have doubts about this world being his or her home.

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was a French philosopher, author and Jesuit priest who taught many things that the Church couldn’t accept, and therefore, many of his writings were censored by that organization. How he reached this conclusion which he stated in his book, The Phenomenon of Man, I know not. I’m simply going to assume it was the Light of understanding  shining through the dark clouds of ignorance. 

This quote of his has been repeated by many great spiritual teachers, such as the late, great Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, from whom I first heard of it. It’s a great statement filled with much meaning and wisdom. But that being said, I don’t accept it completely, for I don’t believe that what we truly are could actually have a human experience.

“The body neither lives nor dies because it cannot contain you who are life”   …ACIM

The body doesn’t live nor die because it’s an illusion. Like everything in this world it’s nothing but part of a dream. The above quote implies that it cannot contain you because you are life. How could a dream – an illusion – contain life; and if it contains no life how could it die?

I understand how difficult it is to accept the idea that the body neither lives nor dies, but as the Course says, and this blog has repeated many times: “This course will be believed entirely or not at all. For it is wholly true or wholly false and cannot be but partially believed.“ And as I have also repeated many time, I have accepted the Course as the ultimate in spiritual teachings. Therefore I have no alternative other than to accept and believe what it says.

That being said, I have no problem understanding and believing the concept that we are not actually inhabiting physical bodies. About this concept the Course says: “The body is the central figure in the dreaming of the world. There is no dream without it, nor does it exist without the dream, in which it acts as if it were a person, to be seen and be believed.” 

The Road Leading Nowhere

We often hear of the spiritual journey, the spiritual road, the spiritual path or the spiritual way, but there never was, there is not now, nor will there ever be such a thing.

There are such things as spiritual beliefs, but there are no spiritual roads, journeys, paths or ways. Where would such a path lead to; where could it go?

But that being said, it is necessary to use these words as metaphors in order for language to be consistent and express meaning.

There are only dreams, and there are only two types of them; there are happy dreams, which are dreams of love. And there are unhappy dreams, which are dreams of fear. As the Course tells us: “All your time is spent in dreaming. Your sleeping and your waking dreams have different forms, and that is all.”

Even though the above quote refers to both sleeping and waking dreams, there is another awakening; an actual awakening from all dreams. And this is the happening searched for and referred to when people speak about spiritual roads, journeys, paths or ways.

You probably noticed that my opening quote referred to this world you seem to live in. That’s what dreams are. They’re seeming happenings that aren’t happening at all.

And such are our so-called lives in this world. Even though it very much seems as if we’re living here; we’re actually not. We are where our Creator placed us upon our creation.

We are, we always were, and we always will be at Home in Heaven as part of Him. As the Course tells us: “There is no road that leads away from Him. A journey from yourself does not exist.”

God wills you waken gently and with joy.

If you’re asleep and dreaming you have no conscious knowledge of your situation. You don’t know you’re asleep and the dream you’re involved in seems to be quite real. This physical experience seems to be quite real, and you probably find it difficult to accept the idea that it’s nothing but a dream.

But for those who can accept it, love-inspired dreams of fearlessness, happiness and joy will soon replace the ego-inspired dreams of fear, misery, aging and death.

This change is guaranteed because they’re beginning to awaken. If they weren’t beginning to awaken they wouldn’t even be able to hear the idea that this so-called “life” is a dream.

But those who can hear it – those who have ears to hear – will eventually accept it as a possibility. And from there it will begin to make more and more sense. It is God’s Will for all of us that we gently awaken to the recognition of Spirit, which is always filled with joy. And even though we may not yet realize it, it is our will also.

Changing the Dream

Again, before we can awaken it’s necessary that we let our unhappy and fearful dreams be changed to happy and loving ones. And now the question arises; how is this done? First of all, we absolutely must choose to recognize the Spirit, and understand that happiness does not dwell in dreams where we see only flesh. To see only flesh is to accept the belief that we are separated from God, and therefore, from the only Source of genuine happiness that exists in the universe.

I mentioned above that it is God’s Will for all of us that we gently awaken to the recognition of Spirit. But it cannot happen without our participation even though God Himself wills it. He created us to be forever free, and therefore that’s what we’ll forever be.

We have to decide we want to recognize the Spirit. By doing so we join our will with His, and when this happens we have shifted away from the silly idea that there could ever be two wills, except in illusions. The truth is, God’s Will and our wills are the same. He wills only happiness as the Course says: “God’s Will for you is perfect happiness.”

Whom amoung us, after everything is said and done, wills anything for him or herself except that which they believe will contribute to their happiness? But the thing is, every time we reach a physical goal that we believe will be accompanied by happiness, in a very short time it actually turns out to be a disappointment. That’s because there never was, there is not now, nor will there ever be, any true happiness found in a world that’s based on separation from God. 

I’m going to close this post with a quote by the American writer, theologian, mystic and poet, Thomas Merton: “What can we gain by sailing to the moon if we are not able to cross the abyss that separates us from ourselves? This is the most important of all voyages of discovery, and without it, all the rest are not only useless, but disastrous.” 

 

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YOU NEED NOT SEARCH FOR HAPPINESS – FOR HAPPINESS IS WHAT YOU ARE