You mention 3 areas that can be stuck-points or 'bugaboos' in understanding the Course. As you said, they seem to be ego-footholds that enable a student to ardently 'do the Course' and also stay in our conventional thought-system. 1. Miracle vs magic, 2. forgiveness vs. virtuousness, and 3. the body as a focal-object vs. the body as a 'window.' These are ongoing areas of awareness for me--they remain subtle, elusive and demand the Primary Relationship emphasized throughout the Course. Thanks! This issue of 'physical healing' sort of gets into all three of those areas....

Thanks for the support! Just yesterday I picked up a commentary on The Bhagavad Gita which said, "We come here to 'do action' (karma) and not to obtain the fruits of the actions." It was the first time I heard it and appreciated what it means. J and I converse on these incredibly rich paragraphs to carve deeper into our own understanding. Getting heartfelt reactions [like this comment you posted] are a blessing on top of the nature of these studies [they are their own reward]. I do hope it catches at some point, but it's not an issue for me anymore and it never was for Joanna.

I totally agree! There are surprisingly few podcasts, that I’ve managed to find anyway, that discuss the course on a deep level and one that relates to ‘real’ life! I listen to deep thinkers discussing theories of consciousness, philosophy and spirituality that would be so enriched and clarified by the understanding that the course brings! Especially people like Don Hoffman who are actively appealing for a more precise explanation of mind as fundamental, and how and why it gives rise to the world. It’s quite frustrating that the course is so little known to the wider world, but I suppose we should trust that all is perfect in the greater plan.

Your support is greatly appreciated! The comments/ references [always] cause me to contemplate.

Thanks! The expression of support is 'real and effective.'

Excellent, thank-you for being there!

Thanks! I think we have talked about this before...I think 'anomalies' are great opportunities to understand some essential concept. Solaris has a few places where the brain shuts down and invents a kind of 'lubricant' to get conventional sense out of the story. A few of those are Hari's tremendous strength and hyper reactive 'rage' when Chris isolates her and she tears down the door. Also Chris's [stupid?] sense of safety when he realizes she has that latent power. Those are just examples. If I sit with them and notice a stupor sort of fogging those scenes into trivia, I pinch myself so as to not miss an opportunity. I would not do the same thing in 'Forbidden Planet' or 'Alien.' or even 'Bladerunner'---those seem more like narratives than myths, unlike Solaris, or maybe 2001. I can't think of any others that deserve mystical consideration. [?]

'There is a foxhole inside of every atheist.' I have developed a fascination for the possible 'prodigal son' narrative under the sci-fi-Solaris screenplay. Another something to think about... Thanks for commenting and being there!

You should watch it and say what you get, or don't. Not everybody is up for sifting through ambiguity. (Seems like maybe you are. I don't want to presume, so this is in parentheses).

Thank-you for your thoughtful reply. Tuesday, I hope to put out an episode on the movie 'Solaris'--THE ONE AFTER THAT, Friday, is driven by your comment here. This idea of physical healing is not comfortable for me, for all the wrong reasons, fear, protection, lack of trust etc... We try to go into the reality of physical healing in the episode which corresponds to Ch 20. sect 4. I don't know how successful I/we were, but I was referring back to the concern you bring up throughout the conversation. Between the lines, at least, I read in your comment that I along with others, avoid the promise and possibility of healing--physical, observable and miraculous. As you address, the Gospels demonstrate the reality of physical healing DRAMATICALLY--it is doubtful that it is all symbol and metaphor. We'll see how healing manifests, going forward, as there are AMPLE reasons to reach -in and believe and demonstrate the body as nothing but a servant for God's plan rather than 'my interpretation.' Thanks again.

@@hamiltonconstellation thank you for your considerate response, I look forward to the podcast in which you discuss this subject. I totally agree that it’s not an easy one. I always notice that any issues that deal with the world, in terms of the course, are always full of paradox. I come to all of this from the point of view of having had an accident 4 years ago which left me paralyzed from the chest down, and also took my 4 year old daughter. A crash course in many of the most challenging forms of loss imaginable in the dream! This included the person I loved leaving me, no longer being able to pursue my vocation and passion, not to mention the total loss of autonomy, to the point of being unable to roll over in bed. For me it’s been a journey of pulling myself out of despair towards hope, the spiritual journey being a big part of it. Many people in my situation do this by resigning themselves to the seemingly incurable nature of their disability, but that just doesn’t work for me. So part of my process has been to find encouragement by studying testimonies of miraculous healings of all sorts, and there are many, many of them out there, in all kinds of hopeless situations. One of the best resources I found were the testimonies of people following Jo Dispenza’s method, which is based on meditation. Partly because there are many hundreds of them available, but also because I resonate with the ideas involved, which are surprisingly similar to some course concepts (whatever you think about the man himself!). The one most common factor to miraculous healings that I noticed is that it often comes about when people surrender their attachment to the desire for healing and fully embrace their mind’s capacity to connect with the divine, or just to the feeling of love and joy. Sometimes it is the desire to see someone else healed that triggers their own healing. This is totally in alignment with what Jesus teaches us about healing in the course. But it doesn’t seem to matter that these people came to this state of mind with the specific purpose of healing their body. As long as they are able to transcend that concern for an instant and embrace the power of spirit, healing will flow forth. Perhaps there are other factors determining whether or not healing happens that are beyond the individual’s control, such as how it fits into the greater plan involving everyone else in the situation, but that’s where trust and faith come in. That’s why I think there’s far too much stigma attached to this subject by some course teachers. It’s perfectly normal to want to heal, to be healthy and happy. Jesus states repeatedly that this is God’s will for us. Students should not be being made to feel that this desire is something they must abandon in order to follow the course. It’s about putting it in the right perspective of the healing of the mind as goal. I also invite anyone who waxes lyrical about the unreality of body to try being quadriplegic for a day and see if they have really understood what they were saying! We ARE having a physical experience in this world, and a functioning body is a pretty useful thing within that experience… My own journey of deep contemplation of the course is certainly leading me towards an increasing ability to find liberation in my mind, despite extreme physical limitation, as well as a deepening trust that everything is ok, physical healing or no physical healing. But paradoxically there is also a growing sense of certainty that anything is possible. It’s clear to me that it’s this very certainty of the power of love that allowed Jesus to heal people two thousand years ago.

😂😅🤣

'Fear and Loathing in Varanasi' HA! Thanks, literally God only knows how Jesus on the cross finds his way into Vishnu's pig-sty but it seems like a natural fit. Thanks!

You're welcome!

Wow. Thank you for engaging with us there...we do get into it, feeling-wise, sometimes even a little 'wrung-out' from going farther out on a limb that we expected...so it is very nice to hear that it comes across. Thanks again.

Non-specific but personal--the difference between practicing ACIM and figuring out how to construct the MOAB at the public library is that the information gained at the library is a symbol of destruction, while breaking open ACIM is actual healing toward wholeness. When I got a bit of frostbite tooling around on the ice and ditching my gloves, cold water was excruciating fire that made me feel like I would explode in unbearable anguish--no exaggeration, maybe a common experience. Did the knowledge it was healing and not destruction help?--Dunno, kinda.. This is my way of saying, "We are not at the library" and any vector, known or unknown in the healing process is Real. Call it faith or weird science...Thanks for the crack-o-dawn comment!

Yes!

I know...issues where the hackles rise seem to fall into another category called 'reality' as opposed to my religious hobbies which tell me about Reality. No spiritual truth will expose my ingrown toenail as an illusion. Actually, I don't know...honestly, at a moment like this, I tear up, realize I really hate myself as a sinner steeped in these hell-currents of physical conflict, and seek forgiveness. I need forgiveness from my daughter who disapproves, from my friend who disagrees, from strangers who dis the whole thing...but in the NOW it's that idiot in the mirror who trumpets opinions and withers in a tepid breeze of disapproval. I bless you, [me, you, them] holy Son of God, in there, somewhere.

@@hamiltonconstellation Dull and tired now... I'll get back to you guys around 3:00 a.m. Saturday. 😂

To some extent we build one another up in this process of seeing what doesn't appear--I really appreciate your support in this. You'll have to infer what I am unable to say correctly.

Good point--and it makes the brilliance of the piece [Blade Runner] brighter. Tyrell, the "counterfeit-god-who made-you" is thrown out with the trash [compactor]. Roy re-symbolizes himself with the white dove, "Here is my immortal soul, watch it rise." And the robot-cop learns at the feet of the rogue robot who declared himself a divine child. Thanks. Beautiful.

Thanks for being here.

I must admit, this makes me feel good. I appreciate it!

These 4 obstacles have been 'a formidable event' in terms of length and the interweaving of the 'concepts.' Thanks for the history on what Helen thought, it adds a dimension. This is off-topic, but I'm am tilting toward ACIM as 'authentic Christianity' in terms of the actual teachings in the gospels, rightfully sheared away from the constant harkening back to the old gods of Genesis and their hunger for meat. [Wrong again probly...].

The best compliment.

Long-winded is good. If words were darts, I would have at least one bulls-eye every session (wall completely covered in darts). Thanks!

We/I very much appreciate your input--I agree that this issue is like the carbon monoxide emissions from the engine of spiritual attainment. Looking at the darkness and courage to do so...well put. THANKS.

It would be good to have a conversation on this 'weaponization of religion' and its relationship to certain kinds of pathologies. This is a standing issue that seems like there is no solution--I smell the possibility of miracle. Thanks for sharing your experience and reaction. I need to figure out a way to have extended back and forth on these kinds of things. Soon. [That sword feels mighty-righteous once unsheathed].

Thanks for commenting--I look forward to it. As long as the dream carpet was acrylic' there is no problem. I went to a dream workshop and they told us to say, "If it was my dream..." and then interpret. Then again, I think dreams happen BECAUSE the dreamer resists the information, so it comes as an allegory. But I can't resist--white carpet, red wine. Sound system. ACIM. If it was my dream [I know you didn't ask--like the Irishman asked about a bar room brawl--"Is this a private fight or can anybody get in?"] People that buy white carpets (which are beautiful--I saw an entire white wall, carpet, furniture in a Tantric Yoga studio. Beautiful--scary), are dealing with a certain kind of nervous faith and a dose of control. Your wife saying ,"This much" is the control aspect--the sound system indicates how well that will work out (amplification by intent). The wine of the mystic--life, the real deal, culturing the soul--it's like the red spot in an egg--uncontrollable life happens. Beautiful. People that buy white carpets either buy acrylic or they don't serve wine over the rug. Forgive me for jumping in--I really appreciate the opportunity to hear it and even to provide the unstainable rug.

Good point

You are anticipating the next one on Magic Thoughts! It seemed like what you are saying is a response to that one. Thanks--profound! Like they say in India, "I am not the doer," I have to let go of the idea it is me doing things. 'I" might taste a sweet grape but taste is not mine. Suddenly the sweet grape goes away when I get a cold--and the cold isn't mine either. Thanks!

[Me too]--collective dream network, like the fibers of hopes and fears that each separate individual throws in the matrix through a whole lifetime. [Collective unconscious?] and gets caught in all those hopes and fears unless HS sorts out the larger context of each and every hope or fear. Thanks!

I was glad to see your comment--thanks. I like the concept of 'snake-time' which gives me the sovereign right to create a crazy world as long as I want to...or something.

After your first comment on the myceleum, I rethought it and you are right--there is ONE myceleum, not 2--and it is the snake and rope situation. Thanks so much for commenting and thinking this through. The tangible aspect of the 'myceleum' helps me manage the amorphous idea of 'guilt.' Still working....

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJnZeKJ3Z9SGe5o kzbin.info/www/bejne/enKciqGDmZV-fqM I apologize--this was an oversight--these are my favorites. The guy at the bottom lake was particularly enlightening and moving. THANKS! I will follow up in a video.

Thanks! I have 'struggled' with the guilt concept--not clear exactly what the Course is talking about. She and I end up in a sort of stand off where she'll give the textbook explanation, and I say "Do you feel guilty all the time?" She is very accomodating and threw my own concept of 'myceleum' back at me. I think it's the best idea for understanding guilt as a pervasive issue, necessary for the ego to convince us it's got the best way to go. Anyway, glad it landed and did not seem far flung.

Excellent--that snake and rope thing helps me a lot to separate phenomena from my idea about it--and my reactions to the whole 'event.' This aspect of the 'nightmare' not 'transforming ' into a happy dream is important , I think. Thanks again for commenting!

Fantastic--it is a great encouragement to get your feedback. Thanks!

You are welcome!

Thanks for being there and saying so!

Thanks!

Thank-you very much--it is great to hear what you think! As far as giving up on doing these--our objective is to do the entire text...the first one I think was chapter 7, sect 5. So there is some distance to cover. AND the Course changes every time I go through it...

Thanks you for the promo!

I spent some time trying to make this point with Joanna with mixed success! I agree with you that faith is the key to any 'miracle-mindedness.' At this point in my process I have 2 categories of experience that call for 'forgiveness,' and 'the miracle.' The most obvious is some kind of confrontation--it could be a mood arising, an event that feels like an attack, or simply when things don't seem to work out the way I want. The other category is 'all the rest of the time' which is easily 80-90%. Faithfulness vs faithlessness, for me, addressess all that ambient gray zone. I can sense in myself whether I am seeking partnership in a sense of 'faith' during those periods of not-much-going-on. Thank you for your helpful, thoughtful observation.

Thanks for saying so...what I concluded, at least in me'own noggin' is that the miracle does require the faith to invite in the Helper, but most of my experience lacks such opportunities (like right now). The idea of '2' ways' the real world and faith covers 2 kinds of situations. One is a direct confrontation with a seemingly isolated challenge, and the other takes care of all the rest. Eg, right now, I turn my attention to spirit for the 'faith' that this reply serves the Sonship in a way that both you and I benefit from--as opposed to some other kind of exercize [my ego trip, defenseiveness, just neurotic rambling]. I appreciate the comment--Joanna agrees with you by the way (doesn't see 2...).!

Thank you for asking, this is a point I am focusing on---this all around me is 'a happening.' it seems neutral most of the time, but if I am honest, it is charged with possibilities of pain, loss, and danger. The 'neutrality' is a false front for the nightmare which can just come from seemingly nowhere. ACIM says 'faith' is the reliance on 'the Soution' to the nightmare. That appears as a happy dream---meaning, each potential danger or pain is charged with grace. Any 'bad' event or outcome [we assume, in 'FAITH'] has already been solved with a happy witness [a good interpreation etc...]. Practically, when my expereince goes awry, becomes painful, looping in negative ways etc...I maintain confidence that these rough waters can and will calm if I accept partnership with 'The Solution' called Holy Spirit in the course. I apologize if this is long or does not get to the point---finding manifestations of the Happy Illusion is a pleasantly long process. The Happy Dream, full of light, love and positivity, gives way to Knowledge, the experience of God that goes beyond the senses. Have a very happy illusion tday!

@@hamiltonconstellation Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I am swimming through turbulent waters, not of my own making, so your reply is helpful.

Also love the point about how people reassure themselves with words and how paying more attention to their rhetoric than their actions can create false smallness. That is helpful perspective.

Thanks!

This point was so subtle it almost got cut out. I was talking around real history and was afraid it might have fileted the point. This feedback is helpful!

Definitely a truth-ache! Somebody gave me a button 'Stop Truth-Decay.'

@@hamiltonconstellation 🤣👍🏻

Sure. Before I launch in to a conversation about You tube and the 'fate of mere content creator' can you offer some idea about who you are and hwere you are coming from as a helper/interpreter of You Tube fate? Thanks for reaching out!

@@hamiltonconstellation Your channel has great quality contents but still it is not delivering its right audiences due to SEO problems. You should focus on your SEO so that You can get a big fanbase. Thanks.

DONE! Saw the smoke! Really, thanks, extrapolating now, hoping they are not egging our house...

Funny how that works--we create a problem and then manufacture the exact time necessary to fix it. Never thought of it that way. Like an infinite can of paint for an infinite house that only exists 'cause you want to paint...