In this podcast we look at how the fear of God is maintained by our compulsion to crucify ourselves and others. It includes a reading of ‘Good God’, taken from “The Bridge of Return: A Course in Miracles as a Western Yoga”, and concludes with an examination of the Course’s Workbook Lesson 196: ‘It can be but myself I crucify.’
Click on the following link to listen to the podcast on YouTube:
Reflections on A Course in Miracles 
Thank you for sharing your wisdom.
Could you blog a response to this? https://chrisdierkes.com/course-in-miracles/
I am new to the course in miracles and still trying to find my sspiritual path. I see value in Jung and ACIM, which drew me to your work. I would be really interested to hear your thoughts on the above article, because I am grappling with the claims made in the article and it has taken away some of my trust and faith in the course.
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Thanks for your question and the link. An interesting read. Unfortunately, the author of the article makes several errors regarding the Course. This is inevitable if someone is unfamiliar with the Course’s unique definitions.
Simply stated, the Course’s definition of love can be likened to Nietzsche’s as expressed in this quote: “That which is done out of love is always beyond good and evil.” So love, as defined by the Course, isn’t a ‘good’ in opposition to fear, but something that transcends the dichotomy of what we commonly regard as good and evil, or ‘love’ and fear. Love, as the world commonly defines it – the ‘good’ Niezsche is talking about – always asks for something in return – it is coming from a desire to fulfil a need. In Jungian terms, you could say that kind of ‘good’ or ‘love’ relates to maintaining a particular persona, though this defensive need is unconscious. This type of love is therefore the same as fear. Also, when the Course refers to love and fear as the only two emotions, it really means motivations. Therefore, we can be motivated by fear, or by love (but in this sense, the ‘love’ is the transcendent kind).
Strictly speaking, we can’t express the Absolute Love that we are (it is beyond the world entirely), but its reflection here would be acting without judgement, without feeling in competition with others… As the Course says, we can’t really say what love is, but we can say what it is not. Indeed, a great deal of the Course’s curriculum is designed to help us recognise what love is not – and this will relate to fear.
Certainly, the Course doesn’t want us to deny our fear. It encourages us to look at it and engage in a Jungian-like process of ‘owning our shadow’. Also, the Course’s definition of ‘ego’ is akin to the Eastern use of the term relating to our ‘false’ or ‘illusory’ self with its perception of lack, limitation, competitiveness etc., in distinction to our ‘true’ spiritual Self beyond the world of opposites. This is very different to the common psychological use of ‘ego’. Indeed, we need a certain degree of ‘ego strength’ in psychological terms, to undergo the undoing of our identification with the ‘false-self’.
As for Chris’s distinction between an emotion (fear) and a choice (for love), the Course (and others such as Stoicism, CBT…) view our emotions as stemming from our interpretations of events, circumstances etc., and therefore from the mind, albeit most often at an unconscious level. I think most people are familiar with the idea of unconscious bias. This helps us understand the connection between our thoughts and our emotions. The choice the Course talks about relates to a conscious choice between alternatives clearly seen – again, half the battle is realising what would constitute coming from fear. And, there is more to the process than simply a choice for love…
Apologies if all of this is a bit bamboozling! Time constraints prevent me from addressing every point made, but I hope you can gather from this that the Course does in fact take the reader on a deep dive into the ego thought-system, which means into the various ways our fear, shame, and guilt manifest. Some Course teachers emphasise this aspect, some choose not too. Hence, some books on the Course can make it seem like a detour around our fears, which it isn’t. Trust me 🙂
You might find the following introductory video series helpful: Introduction to ACIM video series
Thanks again for your question,
Stephanie
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Thank you so much for your response! “Strictly speaking, we can’t express the Absolute Love that we are (it is beyond the world entirely), but its reflection here would be acting without judgement, without feeling in competition with others.”
I have begun a practice of Metta meditation alongside the Course. I think they may go well together fostering the ability to make Absolute Love a larger part of my life.
I will check out the intro series you link. Thank you again, this is encouraging! And although I don’t fully understand it yet, I think this will be a helpful response to keep coming back to throughout my practice 🙂
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