Lesson 236

I rule my mind, which I alone must rule.

 

With the separation came the decision to identify with the wrong mind. This is the mind ruled by the ego. And now the ego mind seems to triumph over us telling us "what to think, and what to do and feel." (W.236.1.3) The kingdom of the ego is one that is based on sin, guilt and fear. The thoughts that reflect this unholy trinity of sin, guilt and fear are now so intolerable to us that the ego has devised a plan for us to project them out. But as we have seen again and again, these thoughts do not leave our minds, and as long as we are in the service of the ego, we are tortured by thoughts that seem to rule over us.

Now it seems that our kingdom triumphs over us. We feel at the mercy of our body, or of other bodies that affect our state of happiness. We feel victimized by situations and circumstances that seem to be coming from outside of our own minds, but Jesus is saying that we can serve whatever purpose we choose. We are the rulers of our kingdom. In other words, we can put our minds to the service of the Holy Spirit rather than the ego thought system, but we are the decision makers and we are the ones that make this choice. "I thus direct my mind, which I alone can rule." (1.7)

How do we rule our minds? We do it through forgiveness. We make space for the Holy Spirit to come through the right mind when we bring our thoughts and feelings to His healing light. We accept the Atonement for ourselves by accepting His love. We step aside from our own wishes, fantasies, fears, desires, and judgments, and surrender to the One that knows our true will. Now our minds are open to His Thoughts. We deny the power of our own thoughts to rule over us. What can bring us pain or sorrow except our own beliefs in our unworthiness?

In the passage "The Little Garden," Jesus talks of how cruelly the ego rules within the kingdom, which is a part of our mind dominated by the ego. Our ego-dominated mind is described as "a very little segment of Heaven, splintered from the whole, proclaiming that within it is your kingdom, where God can enter not. (T.18.VIII.2.6) "Within this kingdom the ego rules, and cruelly. And to defend this little speck of dust it bids you fight against the universe. This fragment of your mind is such a tiny part of it that, could you but appreciate the whole, you would see instantly that it is like the smallest sunbeam to the sun, or like the faintest ripple on the surface of the ocean. In its amazing arrogance, this tiny sunbeam has decided it is the sun; this almost imperceptible ripple hails itself as the ocean. Think how alone and frightened is this little thought, this infinitesimal illusion, holding itself apart against the universe." (T.18.VIII.3.1-5)

We are keeping out of our experience the vast unknown that is the call in our minds to join with our true Self so that we can experience the holiness of our minds and recognize that we are not these little ripples on the ocean but in fact we are the whole of it. And this is where our peace, joy and freedom reside. We have a choice. We do not have to be at the mercy of our base instincts, drives, hormones, emotional patterns and habits that seem to rise up and tell us what to think and feel and do? We may try to fight against certain urges, addictions, doing things against our own better judgment, feeling pain which we would rather not feel. These things may seem to plague our lives. We try to overcome these urges and addictions with willpower yet our own will is mostly powerless against them. It is when we give them over to the Holy Spirit that healing happens on its own. None of what we experience as powerful in our lives has any real effects. "Who could be made fearful by a power that can have no real effects at all?" (T.30.IV.5.7)

The only power there is is the power of love. The ego will never undo itself. We will never change ourselves without help from outside of this seemingly closed system of the ego. The only real change comes from bringing our thoughts, emotions, beliefs and concepts to the Holy Spirit. It is through forgiveness that the recognition of our true reality shines forth. This is the kingdom that we can choose and it is the only choice available to us in this world. This is the only power we have. We are not limited by the body and our experiences in this world. Our reality is boundless. "The body is a tiny fence around a little part of a glorious and complete idea." (T.18.VIII.2.5)

Jesus is telling us that the decision-making mind is in charge. The purpose that is being served is whatever we choose. It is the purpose of continuing to be rooted in the body and the world or the purpose of waking up. So, we, in fact, are not at the mercy of the drives that seem to rule us so persistently. We can choose the Will of God instead of our own will. We are not the victims of our bodies or the world. We are under no laws but God's. We have heard the Call and love has entered at our weak request.

As we watch our thoughts and turn them over to the Holy Spirit, we loosen the bricks of this wall of protection that we have built around the part of the mind that is ruled by the ego. It is our own decision-making mind that chose the ego and we can now make a choice, for the Holy Spirit. Thus we are still in charge and can give up the belief that we are at the mercy of the body and the world, and turn our minds over to a different purpose, which is the purpose of awakening from this dream. So everything is about purpose. If we decide to awaken from this dream, then everything in the dream can serve that purpose. But if we choose to serve our best interests and bodily needs as defined by the ego, then everything serves its purpose to keep us rooted in the world of illusion. So today we are asked to put our minds in the service of the Holy Spirit, and when we do everything we have made to serve the ego can be used for our awakening.

Jesus tells us, "You have a Guide to how to develop them [your abilities], but you have no commander except yourself." (T.6.IV.9.4) The Holy Spirit can only guide. We are the ones that must choose. We are the ruler-the king. No one has power over us but ourselves. A guide merely directs, leaving us to choose whether to follow or not. In this Course, God is described as a loving Father of infinite tenderness and patience. He has no power over us. That is where the Course is not in line with traditional religious thinking. It is up to us to freely choose to accept what is being offered us in guidance. God's power is love. His love has only confirmed one thing, which is that we can't change the truth about who we are as God's Son. We have been created with all of our Father's attributes. Thus the only thing we can't change about ourselves is that we are holy, innocent, pure and perfect in our creation.

The place where no one can enter, not even God, is the secret, untouchable place that we rule with our thoughts. It is protected by our judgments. All of our self-concepts, beliefs and values are formed here. In our work with the Course, we are urged to bring these judgments forward to our awareness and raise them to doubt. "If you raise what fear conceals to clear-cut unequivocal predominance, fear becomes meaningless." (T.12.I.9.9) We are releasing our need to be right in this process and thus raising to doubt the ego mind that thinks it knows.

Our part in the process of releasing the ego is simply to look at what we have denied. The ego tells us that, if we look, we will be destroyed, but the ego does not love us! The road to Heaven, to the happy dream, does take us through hell, but we can't heal what we hide from ourselves. So today, let's take the hand of our beloved friend and elder brother and look at the judgments that arise and be willing to question them. Our bodies and the world have no effect on us. They have no power to take away our peace nor to destroy the love that is in our minds,and by ruling my mind, which I alone can rule, I come to know the love that I am as my only reality.

Today we direct our minds to a holy direction and give them to the Holy Spirit to use. I choose today which voice I shall follow. I decide today who my mind serves. I need not be ruled by the ego and its identification with the body to tell me what to feel. It is up to me what purpose I give it. When the choice is for the ego, we can't know the love, joy and peace that is our natural inheritance. In fact, in our confusion, we are constantly reaching out for pleasure yet ultimately getting pain. So today, we take charge and consciously acknowledge our power to choose. Let's not pretend we are powerless. Today we choose to open our minds to His Thoughts and close them to every thought but His.