Q #1219: How can I apply forgiveness if I dont know what the perceived cause of my suffering is, like an anxiety that is there but you dont know where it comes from? Do I have to find out what it is that is causing it? A: A Course in Miracles teaches that the ultimate cause of all anxiety, pain, and suffering is the minds decision to choose separation and abandon the Fathers Love. That is what got us here in this world, which is racked with pain. One of the very important goals of the Course is to teach us the real cause of pain (the minds choice for separation) from the apparent cause (a person or event external to the mind). This distinction is at the heart of the process of forgiveness. It is often very helpful to identify the apparent cause of suffering, because in it lie the specific grievances that the ego is using to keep pain alive. The mind uses pain to defend its belief that the dream of separation is real and suffering is justified. This is its excuse for continuing to choose separation and deny that any other choice is possible. Being willing to see this defense system in operation and recognize its devious purpose is the beginning of its undoing. However, as you mention, it is not always possible to identify the specific apparent cause of suffering, and it is not necessary to do so: “It is not necessary to follow fear through all the circuitous routes by which it burrows underground and hides in darkness, to emerge in forms quite different from what it is. Yet it is necessary to examine each one as long as you would retain the principle that governs all of them. When you are willing to regard them, not as separate, but as different manifestations of the same idea, and one you do not want, they go together” (T.15.X.5:1,2,3). This means that it is important to look at any thoughts of judgment, annoyances, or upsets that are associated with recognizable causes. They are at the root of the experience of unexplained suffering while the ultimate cause remains the minds choice, as we mentioned earlier. Judgments and grievances that are tucked away, overlooked, or denied, are the cause of undefinable anxiety. They are the source of guilt, as Jesus tells us: “Of one thing you were sure: Of all the many causes you perceived as bringing pain and suffering to you, your guilt was not among them. Nor did you in any way request them for yourself. This is how all illusions came about. The one who makes them [the decision-making part of the mind] does not see himself as making them, and their reality does not depend on him. Whatever cause they have is something quite apart from him, and what he sees is separate from his mind. He cannot doubt his dreams reality, because he does not see the part he plays in making them and making them seem real” (T.27.VII.7:4,5,6,7,8,9). Thus, it is important to recognize that suffering plays an important role in keeping the ego thought system intact. That is not to say that you should not do whatever is helpful to alleviate the form suffering takes, which may include seeking counseling or therapy to uncover the possible apparent cause. The Course is not meant to replace the many things that provide comfort and relief from the anxiety and pain of believing we have abandoned God. It does offer ultimate relief by leading us out of the dream of separation, but that is accomplished in a gentle, gradual process of practicing forgiveness by searching the mind carefully for the judgments that keep the memory of God from awareness. If we are willing to question them, seeing them as the reflection of the minds choice, we open the door to the Holy Spirit Who will release them. Guilt is thus diminished and eventually undone, along with the suffering that is its effect: “Bring, then, all forms of suffering to Him Who knows that every one is like the rest. He sees no differences where none exists, and He will teach you how each one is caused. None has a different cause from all the rest, and all of them are easily undone by but a single lesson truly learned. Salvation is a secret you have kept but from yourself” (T.27.VIII.12:1,2,3,4).
Posted on: Sat, 23 Nov 2013 15:14:36 +0000
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