Thursday, June 24, 2010

The Oil Spill

I was reading online today about how different Course students are viewing the latest oil spill. Sometimes I get confused about what the right thoughts are to think, what the best actions are to take, and what the heck is really going on around here?

I've come to the conclusion that I really just don't know! So, I practice true forgiveness to the best of my ability which means paying attention to my own wrong mind and asking Jesus for help.

Next thing I know, I'm in my kitchen mixing up a chocolate cake. I recently scored one of those old fashioned mixers that does all the mixing for you. You just throw your ingredients in the bowl and the mixer does the rest. Look ma, no hands!

It was my mother who gave it to me. It had been in her family for years. My older brother had asked for it first and then realized he already had one. So, I lucked out or so I thought.

Then, just now, while I was mixing up that cake, the darn thing vibrated right off the kitchen counter and smashed into a million pieces when it hit the floor. I saw it start to go. I had just walked over to the garbage can. I turned and ran as fast as I could, but I was too late! Bye, bye mixer and hello chocolate cake batter all over everywhere.

I stood there for a minute stunned silent. The kids all came running to see what the awful crash was. It wasn't oil, although, I had put 1/2 cup of oil in there, and no ocean life appeared to be harmed during the spill, but the irony of the situation was not lost on me.

I realized the answer is always the same. I do my job of true forgiveness, and then I do my cover job which is called clean up the mess!

10 comments:

  1. Damn, that poor carpet is taking a beating this week!

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  2. Ahhhhh yes, that carpet is taking a beating! But chocolate cake and milk go perfectly together in my opinion! :o)

    With regard to the BP oil mess, I've just been forgiving it and seeing it as nothing because it's my understanding that that's what it is! Is there another way to look at it as far as the Course is concerned? That is a serious question! As I've mentioned before, this is all new to me... I just very recently finished DU and have started the Text so what am I missing?

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  3. No, you are looking at it correctly. That is the way to look at it as far as the Course is concerned! It really is that simple which doesn't mean you can't sign a petition, or buy some Dawn dishsoap or anything else you might feel inclined to do after you forgive! But whether it's cake batter all over the kitchen or oil all over the ocean, miracles are all the same. That's apparently not the easiest thing for everyone to accept but it is certainly true!

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  4. Yes miracles are all the same, because what you are seeing is not true! This is your dream (your being, whoever is reading this.) As the Course teaches, the dream isn't being dreamed by somebody else. DU p 112 regarding Hitler

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  5. Oh.. I understand better now I think. The forgiving it is done for me and continues to get done the more I see it crossing my path... by signing a petition or going out to buy Dawn am I not reinforcing it's seeming reality? Or is the reinforcing in the attachment that might be formed by a judgment about it all? So if I can sign the petition or help clean a bird and still see it as unreal, that's the ticket?

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  6. Well, the Course is always done at the level of mind. It is never about behavior. So you forgive on the mind level as Mikey said, it is YOUR dream, and then you do whatever you feel inspired to do which might be nothing or it might be cleaning a bird. Another example might be, if someone were choking on a piece of steak. You may want to perform the Hiemlick maneuver (which I cannot spell apparently) and then forgive!Chances are you're not going to sit around thinking well it's only a dream, and so I'm not going to act because I don't want to reinforce its seeming reality. Usually, you do what you would normally do. You just don't do it alone! Yes, the ticket is to practice true forgiveness in your mind, and then do whatever you feel guided to do or not do on the level of form. It does seem tricky at first, but if you keep doing what you're doing which is practicing true forgiveness it will get clearer and clearer. That I do know for certain!

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  7. Yes, like MCS says, the Course is always to be done at the level of the mind. This isn't a religion so it's not about your behavior. As Pursah says, 'You can still live a relatively normal earthly existence while being awakened slowly and gently from your dream.' DU p 111

    Another thing Arten mentions in DU, on p 116:
    When the Course talks about not judging your brother, what it means is that you don't condemn him. Obviously, you have to make judgments just to cross the street. The Course isn't talking about abandoning that kind of judgment. Without it, you couldn't get out of bed in the morning. One thing the Course has nothing against is common sense.

    And as Pursah adds in Your Immortal Reality on p 177
    Remember, the Course is done at the level of the mind. If you’re a woman and a man is trying to rape you, kick him in the balls.

    So, you can always forgive later. Giddy up!

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  8. Thank you so much! It really is lovely and loving of you guys to help me "get a grip"!

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