Lesson #13
A meaningless world engenders fear.
When you realise the things of the ego world are impermanent and illusory our anxiety increases. Anxiety is another word for fear. What is it we are afraid of? Is it meaninglessness?
The ego rushes in with special relationships, material things, new self-improvement projects, involvement in political and social justice causes, hobbies of one sort or another, various chemicals and other addictive behaviors such as gambling, shopping, pornography.. All of these things are attempts by the ego to fill the vacuum, the empty hole, left in our soul when existential disillusionment occurs.
Sometimes we go to the doctor who diagnoses an anxiety disorder and prescribes medication. Sometimes we go to a psychotherapist who may teach us “tools” to manage our anxiety attacks better. Rarely these days do people turn to spiritual ideas and practices to connect with the transcendent. A Course In Miracles offers us a metaphysical philosophy which provides us with a different way of understanding our experience.
Unitarian Universalism offers us a spiritual path and support with its covenantal theology and seven principles, the fourth of which is the affirmation and promotion of a free and responsible search for truth and meaning. The search is not outwardly to the world of the ego but inwardly to the world of the soul.
As we learn how to tolerate the meaninglessness of the ego world, and manage our fears by seeking ways of experiencing peace and bliss, we come to understand that we are not alone in the Universe but part of a transcendent reality which loves us unconditionally. The Universalists knew this from the beginning of their movement and is the foundational teaching of their faith.
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