ACIM VII. Creation and Communication, P 1. It is clear that while the content of any particular ego illusion does not matter, its correction is more helpful in a specific context.
ACIM Chapter 4, VII. Creation and Communication, P 1
VII. Creation and Communication, P 1
1 It is clear that while the content of any particular ego illusion does not matter, its correction is more helpful in a specific context. Ego illusions are quite specific, although the mind is naturally abstract. Part of the mind becomes concrete, however, when it splits. The concrete part believes in the ego, because the ego depends on the concrete. The ego is the part of the mind that believes your existence is defined by separation.
Here is how I understand this. I notice that I am worried about a dear friend who is depressed. But the truth is, my friend is love, peace, and joy. He thinks he is depressed, but how could that be? He is part of God and can be nothing else. In his mind, though, he judges his life as a series of failures. No wonder he is depressed. But in Chapter 3, Jesus tells us this. ⁷Much has been seen since then, but nothing has really happened. (ACIM, T-3.VII.5:7)
If nothing has happened, there is nothing to make him depressed and nothing for me to worry about. The story of his life and the story of our relationship seems very real, as does the world. It all seems concrete, too concrete not to be real. And yet, it is all illusion. Nothing is real, and nothing is happening in this dream. And yet, the situation is useful.
Life Defined by Separation
There is part of my mind that has become concrete. It is the part that believes my life is defined by the separation, which comprises specific and separate instances. Because of this, I will learn more readily if I see the correction as specific. When someone presents a new idea, I will often ask for an example because I will understand it better if I can see how it is used.
This is why the situation involving my friend is useful. I can see in this situation that I still hold onto the idea of suffering, this time in the form of depression. This gives me another opportunity to allow this belief to be corrected. As I look at my fear, I look for the underlying belief. When I find the belief, I forgive it. I ask myself why my friend’s depression causes me to worry. If the answer is not immediately clear, I use root cause inquiry.
Root Cause Inquiry
This is a process that my friend, Regina Dawn Akers, developed. I will include a link to the full process if you want to use it for yourself. It is very effective. I begin by accepting, “I am always upset because of a belief in my mind,” and be willing to see the root cause of this upset, something that may not be at all apparent now. Then I make an assumption. It is, “If my mind were perfectly healed, nothing would upset me, not even this.”
Then you ask, “So why does this upset me?” If my answer refers to something outside my mind, I remind myself that I am looking for the ideas in my own mind that are causing the upset. I might come to many causes before I reach the root cause. When I find one, I forgive it and then try to go deeper. For instance, when I see my friend is depressed, it reminds me of being depressed and how dangerous that was to me. So, I think depression is dangerous. I think I could be endangered. At the root of it, I think I am not safe.
Just an Interpretation
I realize this is an interpretation that I put on the story. I am the one that has decided ‘this event means this about me’. Also, I realize that you have been teaching yourself this belief for a very long time, interpreting many events to have this same meaning, and that is why it feels so strong in me. It doesn’t feel strong because it is true; it feels strong because it has been heavily reinforced through my interpretation of events. I have accepted responsibility for the interpretation as the interpreter.
So I rest, accept and trust with the root cause until it passes. I realize that if this is a deeply reinforced root belief, I may see it many, many times before it is healed. So the feeling of upset may become greater before it disappears. This is because I am bringing it out of the subconscious into awareness. Therefore, it often feels like it is getting bigger when in actuality, it is coming out to be healed.
The Form changes, But the Content Remains the Same.
When I was still working, I had many moments of worry that I would lose a customer. My fear showed me that if I lost this customer, I could lose my standing in my boss’s eyes. This could cause me to lose not just the commission from that sale but lose the confidence my company has in me, which could cost me my job and, therefore, my entire income. This reflected the belief in lack and loss. My fear showed me that losing this customer would affect my self-worth. So evidently, I believe I am defined by what I do. I am seeing the belief in lack, loss and the belief that my behavior defines me reflected back at me.
So, this specific situation reveals to me the beliefs in my mind keeping me tied to the ego self. The situation seems very different, yet, in the end, I feel unsafe. For a long time, I didn’t recognize these as an opportunity to forgive the belief. So, when I felt unsafe for any reason because I identified with the ego, I turned to it for protection. The ego says it will protect me through my fear. If I am afraid of losing everything, I will be careful with my customers and try to do everything right.
The Ego Thinks It Can Protect
When I think I should ask that my mind be healed so that I am living a fearless life, the ego warns that fear is the only thing protecting me from lack and loss. I must do something to be safe. This is the ego trap, but the Holy Spirit is the way out of this trap. All that is required is trust. I trust that I will be healed and that healing is a good thing. I accept the Atonement in this situation, whatever it may look like, and allow my mind to be healed. In this way, I will feel light and free and happy.
Being Vigilant Using the Specifics
The more often I do this, the less likely I am to doubt the outcome, so I am motivated to continue the work until the job is done and the lesson is generalized. Then I won’t need specific instances. Each time the thought of lack and loss appears in my mind, I will have no attachment to it, and it will just go back to where it came from.
As I continue to do this with many specific instances, I realize that I need to look further with root cause inquiry. I begin to see that I feel unworthy, unloveable, and unsafe. I forgive whatever comes up for me. This is funny when you think about it. The ego mind thinks I am this body, and this life is all I have. Actually, it is only a series of specific examples of what it is like to believe in separation.
If I believe the ego, that is, identify with that concrete part of the mind that believes in separation, I will live this dream as if it is actually life, and I will suffer. If I use this dream to recognize the ego beliefs so that I can ask the Holy Spirit to undo what I have done, I will wake up from that illusion and begin to live the happy dream.
CLICK HERE to find directions for doing the Root Cause Inquiry.