A COURSE IN MIRACLES - DR. OF METAPHYSICS DEGREE

ULC Seminary

Seminary Program

Thinking From the Ego

Dr. of Metaphysics Program

BECOMING YOUR OWN MIRACLE WORKER

By: Reverend Loretta M. Siani, Ph.D.

     Hello and Welcome. 

    

This is a sample of the course in metaphysics.  It seeks to uncover the basic nature of mind and spirit.  Its aim is to put in simple terms the fundamental principles of living and describe how those principles can be summoned to manifest everyday miracles.

 

You are asked to live so as to demonstrate that you are not an ego.

-- A Course In Miracles

 

Thinking From The Ego

     In the last discourse we were discussing the nature of consciousness.  You will recall that consciousness requires the ability to hold itself apart and separate itself from what it is observing.  Without this ability there is no consciousness.   We get into problems, however, when we think that the sum total of who we are is represented by the limited awareness of the observations of the conscious mind.  (We are not only what we see in front of us.)  Here’s another way of explaining it:

     We talked earlier of thinking of the conscious mind as the realm inhabited by the ego.  The ego, otherwise known as the false self, defines boundaries to maintain a sense of identity and personality.  The ego is the part of us that says I’m me and you’re you.  This is mine and that’s yours.   A strong, balanced ego is necessary for getting along in this world.  A weak, imbalanced ego, that is either over-inflated or under-inflated ego, disconnects us from our true center of power and gets us into trouble in the world. 

The Over-Inflated Ego

     The over-inflated ego can be said to over-use the natural abilities of consciousness.  In that regard, it distorts our conscious ability to judge and turns it into being judgmental.   This is the ego’s way of protecting its territory and keeping itself separate and special.  To maintain its separateness and ‘specialness’, it thinks it has to compete with others. So it becomes ruthlessly competitive.  You’ve seen people like that and have probably experienced it yourself.  Those who feel they have to compete over everything are often seen as being small and petty – another distinguishing feature of the over-inflated ego.

     Separateness, specialness and competition also require being right.  The over-inflated ego wants to be right, and prove that it is right. Wanting or thinking that it is right makes it want to control and dominate.  To do this, it makes demands of others and of life itself.  It seeks to get anything and everything it can from life.  

The more it gets the more it wants and the more demanding it becomes.

The more it gets the more it wants and the more demanding it becomes.  It wants all the things that never really satisfy such as, more power, more pleasure, more praise.  In A Course In Miracles terminology, its motto is ‘seek and ye shall not find.’ Because no matter how much the inflated ego gets, it always wants more.  The movie ‘Wall Street’ embodies this.  ‘Greed is Good’ is the motto of the main character and is the philosophy they all follow.

The over-inflated ego projects power and satisfaction onto all the things that are outside of itself, thus destroying its relationship with its true source of power and all that brings true satisfaction in life i.e. God & spirit. 

In the words of A Course In Miracles, Preoccupations with problems, which are incapable of solutions, are favorite ego devices. Thinking from the ego generates fear, guilt and loneliness.   The world is full of examples of the so-called rich and famous who erroneously chose this thinking.  They chase after power and all that is empty, and reach the end of their lives unsatisfied and unsatisfied.  No matter how much money, power, fame, etc, that you have, it doesn’t bring you closer to yourself, your family or God (Higher self).

     The inflated ego’s thinking errors further when it changes the conscious mind’s natural curiosity into suspiciousness and an overly skeptical attitude about life, always asking why and how.  It distorts the healthy ability to analyze and turns it into being overly analytical.

The overly analytical, skeptical, inflated ego demands answers and physical proof before it accepts anything and then wonders why it attracts a world that demands the same of it.  It erroneously invests its faith solely in the things of this world that can be measured.  The conscious mind lacks faith.  So it relies strictly on the limited information that it’s measuring devices provide, thus eclipsing itself from the rich resource of imagination, intuition and the intelligence of the heart.  Its behavior becomes stiff and effortful, lacking in grace and natural spontaneity.  It believes only what it can see and measure.

The Under-Inflated Ego

     Equally disappointing results occur when the thinking of the under-inflated ego is chosen.  Like the over-inflated ego, the under-inflated ego also perceives itself as separate from the rest of the world, but it its case it feels an innate sense of powerlessness.  Out of a buried sense of unworthiness, it twists the conscious mind’s ability to analyze and judge into being highly critical and blaming itself and others for the conditions of its life.  

     Under the influence of the thinking of the under-inflated ego, we see ourselves as victims of our heredity, our environment, our culture and our past.  Thinking that outside conditions, which we have no control over, are the cause of our problems, we become bitter and insist that life compensate us in some way. We demand our “rights”.  We hold the government, the company we work for, our parents, our teachers, or our significant others responsible for our demise.  We are unable to form lasting relationships because we are always demanding our rights and seeking to get our needs met, instead of sharing our love, accepting and honoring our partners, and expecting nothing in return.  

     Consumed with a gnawing sense of unworthiness and lack, the under-inflated ego pulls the plug from its real source of power and the unlimited resources of the higher self.  In general, when we choose the erroneous thinking of the under-inflated ego, the world doesn’t need to hold us back.  We hold ourselves back. 

     The grand mistake of both the over-inflated and the under-inflated ego is that it is consumed with self-absorption.  Self-absorption ultimately leads to a sense of fear, isolation, and loss.   Real freedom isn’t experienced until we get over ourselves and put our focus on something bigger than our selves.  When we do this, we realize that our problems stem not from what we are not getting from life but from what we are not giving to life. 

    The less self-absorbed we are and the more aligned we are with the principles of our higher self, of loving, sharing and giving, the more empowered we become. 

     As we shift our thinking to come from the perspective of our higher selves instead of from our over- or under-inflated ego, a miraculous transformation occurs in us.  We begin to see our connectedness to everyone and everything instead of our separateness.  We come to realize that we are no more separate from the world and from others than a sunbeam is separate from the sun or a wave is separate from the ocean.  And just as the sunbeam and the wave are made up of the same energy and information as the sun and the ocean, so we are made up of the same energy and information that is our source – the Spirit of God. 

     When we shift our awareness to the part of us that is connected with our spiritual source we see though spiritual eyes.   We shift from feeling separate and victimized, denying our responsibility and projecting our anger and fear onto others into feeling a sense of oneness, accepting our responsibility for life and extending love and compassion toward others.  As we make this shift, we discover that we enter into a miraculous state of mind and create a context in our lives in which miracles can occur.   That’s what this course is all about, creating miracles in our everyday lives.

     Until we make this shift in our thinking, we are unable to distinguish the true from the false and we remain locked in the prison of our illusion.  As long as we think we are separate, victimized, deficient or need to prove ourselves in any way, we abdicate our true power and cannot partake of all of the promises of life.  Then, instead of being hosts to the Spirit of God and his infinite peace, love and abundance, we are held hostage by the ego and all of its tyranny.  In Course terms, the question remains:  Would you be hostage to your ego or host to God?

 

     To summarize then, we are responsible for choosing to think from the ego or from the higher mind.  We can choose to be guided by the limited, self-absorbed thinking of our over- or under-inflated ego that is always trying to get things from the world and projecting its judging, analyzing, and demanding thoughts onto it.  Or, we can choose to be guided by the loving awareness of our true, spiritual selves that accepts life, offers peace and wants to extend, share and give back to the world. 

According to A Course In Miracles, my mission and yours is to live so as to demonstrate that you are not an ego.  In our next discourse entitled, The Nature of Creation and Existence, we will learn more about how to live in this way and how the life we experience is a mirror reflection of the thoughts we choose.   

     Have a great week!

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