A Course In Miracles Workbook Lesson #25 - I do not know what anything is for.

Lesson # 25

I do not know what anything is for.

It takes great humility to recognize and admit that at the level of the soul, “I do not know what anything is for.” In our arrogance and hubris we think we do. The ego tells us we do. At a superficial level of the ego we can blithely state what we think the purpose of things and relationships are. We find out later that we were mistaken, or misled, or misunderstood, or were biased or prejudiced in some way. Often our experience does not match our expectations and requirements and we become stymied, angry, resentful, fearful.

Today, we are asked six times to take two minutes and simply look around and reflect on our experience and state “I do not know what anything is for.” Things are not what they seem and the purposes of the ego are illusions, impermanent, and amount to little of authentic value.

We cannot see behind the veil until we realize that the veil is there. Plato’s cave dwellers thought the shadows on the wall were real and didn’t realize that they didn’t know what they were for.

We are told in the mystical traditions that people sleepwalk through life. People are told that what they think is real are dreams from which they need to awaken and when they do awaken they will become enlightened.

Unitarian Universalists covenant together to affirm and promote a free and responsible search for truth and meaning but they rarely think of this search as a waking up from the dream state that they are enthralled by and engrossed in. A efficacious search for truth and meaning cannot be engaged in until we recognize and admit that “I do not know what anything is for.”

Good news for 08/26/20 - Asking open ended questions lead to friendly rapport.

One of the major issues in the United States contributing to depression and anxiety is loneliness. How does one go about making new friends? By engaging with them asking open ended questions.

I like to ask, "What has been happening to you today, (this week, this month, since we talked last?)

Unitarian Universalists covenant together to affirm and promote acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations and in people around the world.

My Kind Of Church Music - Gimme Shelter by Playing For Change

UU A Way Of Life endorses Biden/Harris for 2020

UU A Way Of Life endorses Biden/Harris for President and Vice President. Their policies are more aligned with Unitarian Universalist principles.

Let's return the United States to the rule of law.

Unitarian Universalists covenant together to affirm and promote the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large.

 

UU A Way Of Life Podcast - Episode #2 on a discussion of Barbara Kingsolver's novel, Flight Behavior.

 

 Use these books, the novel, and the critical discussion book for your book discussion group.

Chart of components of spiritual health, cardinal sins, and spiritual practices.

Spiritual practice #10 - Keeping it real doing God's will

Keeping it real doing God’s will.

The tenth component of spiritual health is authenticity and the cardinal sin # 10 is phoniness and pretentiousness  The spiritual practice to mitigate phoniness and pretentiousness is regularly doing a life review and continually being attuned to God’s will.

If you ask most people, “What makes you tick?” not only can’t they tell you, but they don’t even have a way of thinking about it, let alone answering the question. Socrates taught that an unexamined life is not worth living. How many people do you know live examined lives?

An excellent spiritual practice is two fold. First performing a regular life review which could be done daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, semiannually, and annually. It also is a good idea to have another person to report the results of your review to such as a trusted friend, a counselor, a pastor, one’s life partner, a sponsor. Secondly, it is helpful to attune ourselves to what we, deep down in our hearts, believe is God’s will for us. By “God” we are referring to the Higher Power, or transcendent ground of existence.

In order to live an authentic life, we must be alert to and on guard against the fake and the phoney pretentiousness of the ego. Our materialistic culture tempts us continually with objects and experiences that we are promised will enhance our egos so that we can experience happiness. We come to realize that these promises of the ego, the idols the ego encourages us to worship, are false promises. What truly makes us peaceful and blissful is the experience of the authentic, the genuine, the sincere, the honest, what some call, “the real deal.”

A person said when she moved to California that when people would greet her with “Hi, how are doin”? She would reply with “Keepin it real.” Keepin it real is a spiritual practice of being mindful by examining our functioning and then attuning ourselves to what we believe is God’s will for us. As St. Paul wrote in his letter to the Corinthians, “If God is with you, who can be against you?” Indeed you and God are a dynamic duo.