Notes on the Text of A Course in - Stephen Wingate

and one solution. The problem is our belief in
separation from God and our identification with the
ego. The one solution is the realization that the
separation from God never happened and we are one
with Him. The only help we need is with the
correction of our mistaken choice in identity. To ask
the Holy Spirit for help with specific problems we
perceive in the world only maintains the ego and
sustains the only real problem with which we need
help — our identity with the ego and body.
•
We are to ask the Holy Spirit for help in undoing the
thought system that gave rise to our individual
existence as bodies in the world, thereby giving rise
to all our problems. The Holy Spirits Answer is the
Atonement: the separation never happened. We are
to bring all our manifold problems to the Holy
Spirit's one Answer. The problem is not my disease,
my broken relationships or my dwindling bank
account; my problem is my belief that I managed to
do the impossible and separated from God. The
underlying principles of this Course are simple and
direct, but we must apply the principles to ourselves
in our daily lives to benefit from it.
•
In order to learn, it is important first to realize how
little we know, and to be open to question everything
we believe we know. Humility is the birth of
wisdom.
•
Perception is interpretation. Meaning, value and
purpose of the body and world are determined in the
mind of the perceiver. When we are identified with
the wrong mind of the ego, we perceive the world
through the eyes of delusion. When we identify with
the right mind of the Holy Spirit, we have true
perception of the world through the vision of the
Holy Spirit.
•
The Course facilitates a radical shift in the way we
perceive our world and the whole universe. But this
shift cannot occur unless we want it to occur, and we
want it to occur when we realize there is something
terribly wrong with the way we are living our lives,
and say, "There must be a better way." Jesus and the
Holy Spirit are our guides who lead us to the better
way.
•
There is one problem: separation. There is one
Answer: the Atonement.
<strong>Notes</strong> on Chapter Eleven – God or the Ego
41
•
The ego keeps us asleep in our nightmare with
ghosts, monsters and dragons. The Holy Spirit helps
wake us up from the ego's nightmare. All problems
are imaginary — "internal" or "external." By looking
at our problems with the light of the Holy Spirit, we
are able to wake up.
•
The little spark is the memory of God's love in our
mind and is symbolized by Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
To be free of the illusions and darkness of the ego we
must look at them with the light of Jesus and the
Holy Spirit. The ego is an illusion, but we have put
the power of our belief in it, and identified with it
making it real to us — indeed it has become "us."
Our belief in the ego is its foundation. By
withdrawing our belief in the ego, its foundation
crumbles.
•
To be free of the ego it is important to look at its
dynamics in our daily lives. The ego can only exist in
darkness. By bringing it to the light of our awareness
with the help of the Holy Spirit, the ego is dissolved.
•
This Course helps us to look at the darkness of our
illusions so we can go beyond them to the light of
our truth. You may wonder; if the ego is not real,
why does the Course focus so much on undoing it?
The ego is unreal, but you believe it is real as
witnessed by the conflict, pain and suffering you
experience in your daily life. When you are
absolutely free of all conflict, pain and suffering, you
can truly say, "The ego is an illusion." Until then, our
goal is to wake up from the nightmare of ego
identification, to the truth of our Identity with Christ.
This Course facilitates our awakening. To cite
metaphysical truths while denying your suffering is a
ploy of the “enlightened” ego.
•
Jesus and the Holy Spirit are the light of truth that
helps us dispel the darkness of our illusions.
•
The ego's dark companions are separation, sin, guilt,
fear, conflict and hatred. Forgiveness and acceptance
of our brothers allows us to enter the presence of
God's light with our brothers. If we are to enter the
wholeness and love of God's presence, absolutely no
one can be excluded. To exclude anyone is to
exclude yourself. What you see outside in your
brother is what you believe about yourself but have
denied and repressed. It is imperative that we realize