Guest guest Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 What is reality? I love this definition... Wapner of A Course in Miracles believes that we take a ladder of consciousness down into an abyss of misery. As we step down each rung, the rung above it is no longer a resource we can use or tap into as veils (barriers) drop and we can no longer access or see what's above - our only job is to remove these veils. The top level is IT. Here no decisions, no separation, no need for the work, no body identification, reside in Self - NO separate self. Wishing to have a separate identity, we take birth. We are given a choice - to listen to self or Self. In ACIM, the author is continually asking us to choose again. He is constantly speaking to the decision maker NOT the victim at the bottom of the ladder. As we decide to exert even more individuality, we become more internalized in a false reality and have difficulty with all forms of authority as we break from our perception of authority of God. At this level of functioning, Focusing (Genlin-Cornwalis), Inner Bonding (, Chopich), and HeartMath (Childers, ) are effective tools for climbing up to the next rung of the ladder that utilizes the wisdom that resides in your heart dialoging with Self with a constant awareness of the decision-maker. Since we experience suffering from doing this, to distance ourself further from truth and not take responsibility, we point the finger to others and call others to blame for our misery. This is the level of functioning that the work (LWI) is most suited for dissipating. On the next lower rung, our body begins to exert a greater reality - The belief that WE ARE THE BODY gives genetics credence, that what we eat matters, that plastic surgery is important, that the body's needs are most important, and on and on and on. At the bottom of the ladder, we become a victim - I did not chose to be born, I can only be happy if what I think will make me happy is realized. We run around with our ladder afixing it to a person (relationship), prosperity (job/money), health (body)- anthing to make our separate self feel special. Each " thing " that we afix the ladder to simply doesn't work... humorously, we affix our ladder to the god of a body until we exhaust that realm discovering that nothing the body has to offer will offer lasting happiness, then we choose another god, and another god until we affix the ladder to peace...to the place where everyone wins...and we get there by going back up the only ladder that results in peace by giving up that idea of a separate identity. Just more random philosophical thoughts along the way. Blessings - Jan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 What is reality? I love this definition... Wapner of A Course in Miracles believes that we take a ladder of consciousness down into an abyss of misery. As we step down each rung,..... *****Before going any further, I would be interested in knowing who or what is this " we " that is repeatedly referred to. What are its characteristics? What defines it? Where did it come from? That kind of thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 What is reality? I love this definition... Wapner of A Course in Miracles believes that we take a ladder of consciousness down into an abyss of misery. As we step down each rung,..... *****Before going any further, I would be interested in knowing who or what is this " we " that is repeatedly referred to. What are its characteristics? What defines it? Where did it come from? That kind of thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 Dear Jan, Thanks for posting this. I agree, of course, being a Course student. The person you are quoting is Dr. Wapnick, not Judge Wapner. :-)) If anyone reading this liked what Jan wrote or found it interesting, I invite them to check our the following website: www.acim.org If you have any questions about the Course In Miracles, you may post them and get answers at: http://www.facimoutreach.org/ Love, Steve D. > What is reality? I love this definition... > > Wapner of A Course in Miracles believes that we take a ladder > of consciousness down into an abyss of misery. > > As we step down each rung, the rung above it is no longer a resource > we can use or tap into as veils (barriers) drop and we can no longer > access or see what's above - our only job is to remove these veils. > > The top level is IT. Here no decisions, no separation, no need for > the work, no body identification, reside in Self - NO separate self. > > Wishing to have a separate identity, we take birth. We are given a > choice - to listen to self or Self. In ACIM, the author is > continually asking us to choose again. He is constantly speaking to > the decision maker NOT the victim at the bottom of the ladder. > > As we decide to exert even more individuality, we become more > internalized in a false reality and have difficulty with all forms of > authority as we break from our perception of authority of God. At > this level of functioning, Focusing (Genlin-Cornwalis), Inner Bonding > (, Chopich), and HeartMath (Childers, ) are effective tools > for climbing up to the next rung of the ladder that utilizes the > wisdom that resides in your heart dialoging with Self with a constant > awareness of the decision-maker. > > Since we experience suffering from doing this, to distance ourself > further from truth and not take responsibility, we point the finger to > others and call others to blame for our misery. This is the level of > functioning that the work (LWI) is most suited for dissipating. > > On the next lower rung, our body begins to exert a greater reality - > The belief that WE ARE THE BODY gives genetics credence, that what we > eat matters, that plastic surgery is important, that the body's needs > are most important, and on and on and on. > > At the bottom of the ladder, we become a victim - I did not chose to > be born, I can only be happy if what I think will make me happy is > realized. We run around with our ladder afixing it to a person > (relationship), prosperity (job/money), health (body)- anthing to make > our separate self feel special. Each " thing " that we afix the ladder > to simply doesn't work... humorously, we affix our ladder to the god > of a body until we exhaust that realm discovering that nothing the > body has to offer will offer lasting happiness, then we choose another > god, and another god until we affix the ladder to peace...to the place > where everyone wins...and we get there by going back up the only > ladder that results in peace by giving up that idea of a separate > identity. > > Just more random philosophical thoughts along the way. > > Blessings - Jan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 > > What is reality? I love this definition... > > Wapner of A Course in Miracles believes that we take a ladder > of consciousness down into an abyss of misery. > > As we step down each rung,..... > > > *****Before going any further, I would be interested in knowing who > or what is this " we " that is repeatedly referred to. What are its > characteristics? What defines it? Where did it come from? That > kind of thing. Dear Andy, Who is the " I " that is interested in knowing? :-)) Love, Steve D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 > > What is reality? I love this definition... > > Wapner of A Course in Miracles believes that we take a ladder > of consciousness down into an abyss of misery. > > As we step down each rung,..... > > > *****Before going any further, I would be interested in knowing who > or what is this " we " that is repeatedly referred to. What are its > characteristics? What defines it? Where did it come from? That > kind of thing. Dear Andy, Who is the " I " that is interested in knowing? :-)) Love, Steve D ---Isn't " we " a personal pronoun? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 ---There's been a lot of discussion about " reality " lately, and the concepts that have been tossed around here are interesting, colorful and meticulously thought out. But they remind me of talking to religious people explaining the context of abstractions in concrete terms. I think the stories about what happens to us after we die are fantastic, but they're stories that come from people who are alive. I know some insist their NDE (Near Death Experience) lets them know what death is and what happens at that moment, but that story rises out of a state of profoundly altered consciousness and I have to wonder about its accuracy. I think " reality " is a noun for everything " left brain thinking " can identify, classify and be satisfied with the definition of...until new evidence changes the perceived reality of it...like Inquiry. ---I believe God is Reality. Yep...I do. He rewards us when we pay attention to the rules of cause and effect, and he punishes us when we don't. He can be the place where we find the profoundest love and acceptance, he can be the hand by which we experience the most abject cruelty. Our interaction with him defines our quality of life, shapes our " morals " and churns out myth after myth of why things are the way they are. In the end God fends off our stories about why this is or that isn't, and remains himself above and beyond who we think he should be. He is constant, we are motile and fleeting. In my tool box of " What is that? " , that's where I find the definition of Reality. What is reality? I love this definition... Wapner of A Course in Miracles believes that we take a ladder of consciousness down into an abyss of misery. As we step down each rung, the rung above it is no longer a resource we can use or tap into as veils (barriers) drop and we can no longer access or see what's above - our only job is to remove these veils. The top level is IT. Here no decisions, no separation, no need for the work, no body identification, reside in Self - NO separate self. Wishing to have a separate identity, we take birth. We are given a choice - to listen to self or Self. In ACIM, the author is continually asking us to choose again. He is constantly speaking to the decision maker NOT the victim at the bottom of the ladder. As we decide to exert even more individuality, we become more internalized in a false reality and have difficulty with all forms of authority as we break from our perception of authority of God. At this level of functioning, Focusing (Genlin-Cornwalis), Inner Bonding (, Chopich), and HeartMath (Childers, ) are effective tools for climbing up to the next rung of the ladder that utilizes the wisdom that resides in your heart dialoging with Self with a constant awareness of the decision-maker. Since we experience suffering from doing this, to distance ourself further from truth and not take responsibility, we point the finger to others and call others to blame for our misery. This is the level of functioning that the work (LWI) is most suited for dissipating. On the next lower rung, our body begins to exert a greater reality - The belief that WE ARE THE BODY gives genetics credence, that what we eat matters, that plastic surgery is important, that the body's needs are most important, and on and on and on. At the bottom of the ladder, we become a victim - I did not chose to be born, I can only be happy if what I think will make me happy is realized. We run around with our ladder afixing it to a person (relationship), prosperity (job/money), health (body)- anthing to make our separate self feel special. Each " thing " that we afix the ladder to simply doesn't work... humorously, we affix our ladder to the god of a body until we exhaust that realm discovering that nothing the body has to offer will offer lasting happiness, then we choose another god, and another god until we affix the ladder to peace...to the place where everyone wins...and we get there by going back up the only ladder that results in peace by giving up that idea of a separate identity. Just more random philosophical thoughts along the way. Blessings - Jan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 > > ---I believe God is Reality. Yep...I do. He rewards us when we pay attention to the rules of cause and effect, and he punishes us when we don't. He can be the place where we find the profoundest love and acceptance, he can be the hand by which we experience the most abject cruelty. Our interaction with him defines our quality of life, shapes our " morals " and churns out myth after myth of why things are the way they are. In the end God fends off our stories about why this is or that isn't, and remains himself above and beyond who we think he should be. He is constant, we are motile and fleeting. In my tool box of " What is that? " , that's where I find the definition of Reality. Oh Matt - you may wish to fix your ladder!!!! *smile* God is simply the place at the end of all suffering - so no cruelty there. I am constant - my identification with the things of this world are motile and fleeting for I am That...(when I am....except when I 'm not...still forgetting) Blessings - Jan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 Dear Andy, Who is the " I " that is interested in knowing? :-)) *****Not so much a who as a what: a collection of thoughts, thought successively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 28, 2004 Report Share Posted September 28, 2004 " SteveDaily " <lafdaily@a...> wrote: > Dear Jan, > > Thanks for posting this. I agree, of course, being a Course student. > > The person you are quoting is Dr. Wapnick, not Judge > Wapner. :-)) This judging stuff - so confusing - quite right you are!!! > > If anyone reading this liked what Jan wrote or found it interesting, > I invite them to check our the following website: > www.acim.org Actually you may also wish to go to Wapnick's website since it is from him I quote - a google search will take you there... > > I'm glad you enjoyed - Jan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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