The Brown Book Commentaries

“But just as at that time when the child who was born according to the flesh persecuted the
Child who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also … For freedom Christ has set us free.
Stand firm, therefore, and submit never again to a yoke of slavery.” ~ Paul (Galatians 4:29+5:1)
The ego (i.e. the ―child who is of the flesh‖) always rejects the will of the conscience (i.e. ―persecutes
the Child of the Spirit‖) … The ego is generated by the ―reptile mind‖ – the most primitive portion of the
human brain, and as such is built solely on fear & selfishness … The conscience (otherwise known as the
―Heart Brain‖) is constructed from the Soul, and as such is built only of Love – compassion for & service
towards others. And most important of all to understand is how these two ―selves‖ interact with one
another – that the former always starts from an assumption of danger, and that the former always assesses
reality ¼ of a second before the latter can even begin doing so. This means that the ―reptile brain‖ of the
ego does indeed always in a sense ―persecute‖ the ―Heart Brain‖ of the conscience, for the former is
always responding to every situation before the neocortex even begins to activate the latter, and the
former is always doing so using the only analyses at its disposal – namely, ―friend or foe‖ & (once ―foe‖
is registered) ―fight or flight.‖ The former believes that any selfless deed is a loss – a vulnerability to
attack – a giving to others and thus a lessening of self – a weakness that can be exploited by the malicious
& the mal-intended. And as such the ego continually ―persecutes‖ the conscience – constantly reminding
our minds that self-sacrifice is only for the Noble, and that we are ―only human‖, and that we are only one
person, and that being Kind to mean people is dangerous or irresponsible or masochistic (or even deadly),
and that being Kind to our enemies only encourages them to be even more mea or disrespectful or abusive
or cruel or annoying in the future … All of these internal encouragements are lies, of course, and yet
unless the person hearing them has the humility to pause and the courage to the go forth and Love
anyway, he or she will ever listen to the worm-tongued whisperings of the ego, and the Joys only
accessible via his or her conscience (the Soul) will remain fully dormant until his or her death … And yet
the best of Good News is indeed the Good News of Christ – that liberation from such selfish superficiality
is available in every moment (Matthew 10:7) and that we can all access the same through simple acts of
courageous Caring (Matthew 24:12-14) … Paul‘s teachings will not lead us to this freedom, of course.
Indeed, it is most ironic that the teachings of Paul – the teachings that were used to found and build up the
modern-day Christian church – are one of the ―yokes of slavery‖ from which Jesus‘ Way of humble, nonjudgmental,
all-accepting, self-sacrificial, & unconditional Love provides liberation.
―Oliver Wendell Holmes noted that a mind stretched cannot return to its previous
state of being … So it is also with the Heart.‖ ~ Alan Cohen
This quote is so very true, and because it is so very true, it is extremely important that we realize how
both are truly stretched – both minds & Hearts. For while it is traditionally believed that the mind is
stretched by humbling oneself and then either pondering concepts unfamiliar or discussing beliefs
uncomfortable, the only way to truly Stretch the Mind is to immerse one‘s actions into those same
newfound concepts & beliefs – to feel the new knowledge more than to merely ―understand‖ or ―know‖
the same … Similarly, while it is traditionally believed that the Heart is stretched by humbling oneself
and then being polite to strangers or uttering nice words to enemies, the only way to truly Stretch the
Heart to immerse one‘s deeds into radically Loving
those same people – to deeply feel how it feels to Love
without condition & Give to another without hope for
reward; to feel how it feels to willingly sacrifice one‘s
own benefit for the well-being of another. That is how
to Stretch the Heart – and once so stretched, the Heart
will never return to its previously self-centered size.
―Pain is the opportunity to be Happy anyway.‖ ~ anonymous
Pain is actually the opportunity to set aside all desires for happiness in order to potently Love another
anyway – and thereby become inadvertently showered with the deepest experience of Joy possible.
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