Hi,
I'm Teresa Hubbard.
Welcome back to our continued reading of the text to A Course in Miracles.
We begin today in Chapter 4,
The Illusions of the Ego.
Chapter 4 begins with an introduction.
This introduction sets a bountiful table before us,
Inviting us to undertake a journey together.
We are told that reading these lessons carefully will help prepare us for it.
So let's buckle up tight as we take a deeper dive,
Unraveling and releasing what no longer fits and opening ourselves to a new beginning.
I invite you to keep a few things in mind as you listen to the reading.
The Course uses male pronouns,
Yet this is simply a way of pointing to the spiritual being,
Having no gender.
The Course is written in first person,
And although not introduced directly to the reader,
It becomes clear that the words are from Jesus,
Often quoting from the Bible.
The Course uses traditional Christian terms in a non-traditional manner.
These words are simply pointers to truth,
Nothing more.
A few definitions of terms you will hear within this reading.
Crucifixion The symbol of the ego's attack on God and therefore on His Son,
Witnessing for us the belief in suffering,
Sacrifice,
Victimization and death.
The true meaning of the crucifixion is that our true identity of love can never be destroyed because death has no power over life.
Perception The total change in mind that transcends the ego and its perceptions,
Allowing us to identify completely with our true self.
Knowledge Also referred to as heaven or the real world,
It is the pre-separation world of God and His unified creation in which there are no differences in form and therefore exclusive of the world of perception.
Separation The nature of our true reality,
Which being of God is changeless and eternal,
Contrasted with the body,
Which changes and dies.
Ego Our belief in the separated or false self that we made as a substitute for the self that God created.
Separation The untrue belief in sin that affirms our identity as separate from God.
This idea is represented by the ego,
Which results in a world filled with the perception of pain,
Suffering and death.
And now on to the reading.
A Course in Miracles Chapter 4 The Illusions of the Ego Introduction The Bible says that you should go with a brother twice as far as he asks.
It certainly does not suggest that you set him back on his journey.
Devotion to a brother cannot set you back either.
It can only lead to mutual progress.
The result of genuine devotion is inspiration.
A word which properly understood is the opposite of fatigue.
To be fatigued is to be dis-spirited,
But to be inspired is to be in the spirit.
To be egocentric is to be dis-spirited,
But to be self-centered,
In the right sense,
Is to be inspired or in spirit.
The truly inspired are enlightened and cannot abide in darkness.
You can speak from the spirit or from the ego as you choose.
If you speak from spirit,
You have chosen to,
Quote,
Be still and know that I am God,
End quote.
These words are inspired because they reflect knowledge.
If you speak from the ego,
You are disclaiming knowledge instead of affirming it and are thus dis-spiriting yourself.
Do not embark on useless journeys because they are indeed in vain.
The ego may desire them,
But spirit cannot embark on them because it is forever unwilling to depart from its foundation.
The journey to the cross should be the last,
Quote,
Useless journey,
End quote.
Do not dwell upon it,
But dismiss it as accomplished.
If you can accept it as your own last useless journey,
You are also free to join my resurrection.
Until you do so,
Your life is indeed wasted.
It merely re-enacts the separation,
The loss of power,
The futile attempts of the ego at reparation and finally the crucifixion of the body or death.
Such repetitions are endless until they are voluntarily given up.
Do not make the pathetic error of,
Quote,
Clinging to the old rugged cross,
End quote.
The only message of the crucifixion is that you can overcome the cross.
Until then,
You are free to crucify yourself as often as you choose.
This is not the gospel I intended to offer you.
We have another journey to undertake,
And if you will read these lessons carefully,
They will help prepare you to undertake it.
