Question 24 from
The Most Commonly Asked Questions About 
A Course in Miracles

By Gloria and Kenneth Wapnick, Ph.D.

 

Chapter 3: APPLICATION AND PRACTICE


24) If all this is a dream or an illusion, or a script which is already written, what difference does it make what I do with my life?

While on one level A Course in Miracles does teach that this world is an illusion and that in truth our experiences here are hallucinations, on another level Jesus assures us that "it is almost impossible to deny its [the body's] existence in this world. Those who do so are engaging in a particularly unworthy from of denial" (T-2.IV.3:10 -11). Since it was our wrong minds that wrote the script of our many "lifetimes" in this delusional hologram of hatred, it would follow that the ego's purpose would be to reinforce belief in the seeming reality of our experience here, which reflects our belief in the reality of our separation from God. And nothing serves this purpose better than the defense of denial, which makes the thoughts of guilt and fear so unacceptably real that they need to be repressed and never looked at again.  This ensures that the thought of separation remains real within the split mind, safe and protected" from the Holy Spirit. 

A Course in Miracles presents us with a choice between two ways of living in this dream world, which is the only true choice remaining to us within the dream. As we implied earlier, the Course teaches that we have a split mind which is really tripartite in structure: 1) a wrong mind that holds the ego thought system in place, and even though it appears that we have choices within the wrong mind, Jesus unequivocally states that to believe that there is a choice in the thought system of the ego is delusional and self-deceptive; 2) a right mind which is the home of the Holy Spirit, and holds a correction for each misthought or miscreation of the ego thought system; and 3) the part of the mind that chooses between the ego and the Holy Spirit, which we refer to as the decision maker. Therefore, our only true choice and freedom within the illusory dream of separation is to choose our right minds, allowing our wrong minds to be undone. We shall return to this important point in a later question. 

Consequently, A Course in Miracles instructs us that the only purpose the world holds is for us to choose the forgiveness script. The Holy Spirit offers us a correction for the ego's nightmare dreams of guilt and attack, wherein the world becomes a classroom in which we can learn the lessons of forgiveness. In this way, the guilt we made that ultimately brought about the making of the body and the world is undone.  Simply indulging the ego's fantasies under the justification that "It doesn't matter anyway" would make these desires real (otherwise why indulge them?), and root one still further in the ego's dream of guilt. Such self-indulgence could include acting out repressed desires such as murder, theft, deception, anger, sexual exploitation, etc., or on the other hand, giving way to thoughts of meaninglessness, depression, and even suicide. And thus the above question -- "What difference does it make what I do with my life?" -- can be understood from a totally different perspective. This is a perspective that gives great meaning to our lives, for it states: "I have a choice to make: which dream do I choose to follow; to which dream will I be loyal?" 

In summary then, we see that on the metaphysical level, everything we do -- not to mention our personal identity -- is an illusion. However, on the level of the dream, where we most certainly believe we are, our lives make a tremendous difference; not so much in terms of what we do, but with whom we do it. Only by choosing Jesus or the Holy Spirit as our teacher, guide, and friend can we undo the cause of our remaining asleep and dreaming dreams which are rooted in the belief in the reality of the separation from our Source, and from each other. We cannot change the script, which is already written and has indeed been undone.  But we can change from the ego's script to the Holy Spirit's. Helping us to accomplish this is the purpose of  A Course in Miracles. 

Reproduced with the kind permission of Gloria and Kenneth
Wapnick and the Foundation for A Course in Miracles
 

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