The Search For Meaning - ACIM lessons

The inspiration behind this blog entry is a very interesting channel I found on youtube.

The channel is ACIM esstentials featuring Auntie Patricia (Patricia Robinett)

Here's
Auntie Patricia on 'Meaning versus Meaninglessness', ACIM Lesson 004.




People all through the ages have been searching for the 'meaning of life'.

I don't think this 'meaning' has been found. Because I'm not sure there exists any 'absolute meaning' in the realm of the mind.

The 'meaning of life' cannot be some complicated network of mental concepts.

The intellectual route in the search for 'meaning' is not wrong, but will eventually take one to the point where all 'meaning' will dissolve...into nothing...


I believe that the moment meaninglessness is seen clearly.
Is the moment in which MEANING will show itself.
Clearly.

The ACIM route into the realm of true meaning, via the dissolution of the 'meaningless meaning' we attribute to things and events: 1. Nothing I see means anything. 2. I have given everything I see all the meaning it has for me. 3. My thoughts do not mean anything. 4. My meaningless thoughts are showing me a meaningless world.

I currently believe, that the absolute, self evident meaning, when it is finally seen clearly, will be accompanied by the dissolution of the mind, signifying a total withdrawal from worldly affairs. And the mind that can see to an extent, the meaninglessness that exists, can see, to an extent, the absolute, self evident meaning of it all.

Digging deeper into the ACIM perspective:

A. If thoughts do not have any meaning, it means that INTERPRETATIONS that thoughts give to situations rising in the surroundings are absurd and meaningless.

Further...memories are also thoughts. When a memory comes, it comes as a thought.

If statement A. is true, it follows that mental movies that pretend to be memories are not really memories, but are pretending to be memories. And their content is also the same - absurd and meaningless. And this takes me to my post on CARL JUNG's commentary on 'Time'.

To people who subscribe to the Advaita Vedantic perspective of MAYA, the following statement will ring true:

Meaningless thoughts from the void are projecting or generating the illusion of a meaningless world that exists only to the extent it is observed.

Quote by Ramesh Balsekar:

In the meditation for November 27 in A Net of Jewels (1996), Ramesh Balsekar says,

"Breathing goes on by itself while the deluded individual thinks it is he who is breathing. Thoughts come from outside, arising spontaneously through intervals of mental vacuum, and he thinks it is he who is thinking. The thoughts get transformed involuntarily into action, and he thinks it is he who is acting. All the while, he is doing nothing but to misconstrue the actions of the Totality as his own action."


Update 2011:

Stepping beyond conclusions & intellectual concepts, judgments, straight into the realm of pure faith...this song is very profound christian mysticism...

Illusion of Doership (or Freewill)

In the meditation for November 27 in A Net of Jewels (1996), Ramesh Balsekar says,

"Breathing goes on by itself while the deluded individual thinks it is he who is breathing. Thoughts come from outside, arising spontaneously through intervals of mental vacuum, and he thinks it is he who is thinking. The thoughts get transformed involuntarily into action, and he thinks it is he who is acting. All the while, he is doing nothing but to misconstrue the actions of the Totality as his own action."
__________________

Ramesh Balsekar is 100 % right. Breathing happens on its own. Body temperature is maintained on its own, you are not doing anything to maintain your body temperature at 98.6 F.

The body heals on its own, no one can FORCE himself to heal.

Sleep comes on its own, no one can FORCE himself to sleep.

Emotions manifest on their own. Moods manifest on their own. A person cant even change his mood if he wants to.

A person can't control his thoughts. A person can't STOP his thoughts no matter how difficult it gets to deal with them.

The Eagles sing "You'd give anything to silence...those voices ringing in your head.." in their song 'Learn to be still.'

Have you, the person, been able to STOP your thoughts even for a minute, over the last few decades? Nope.

A lot of times when one is driving a car...one gets lost in thought...then suddenly pops back into the present moment and realises that the car has taken a wrong turn.

So...who was driving the car? Who was turning the steering wheel? Who braked at red lights, while YOU (the illusory doer) were lost in thought?

In my post 'Kill the Thinker' (currently offline) I have used Chaos Theory to ponder whether the Thinker exists...it appears that thinking happens automatically and spontaneously...that nobody is doing any thinking. The Thinker can exist only if thoughts were being willed...

And it follows that if there is no thinker...THERE IS NO DOER.

But there is indeed someone, and he or she is the Buddha Within, or the silent, peaceful witness of life as it unfolds. This Buddha Within is NOT affected by the human emotions that flow around him or her. The Buddha Within does NOT participate in the dance of human-life, only WATCHES it as it happens...peacefully. He or she is in a state of deep sleep, waking up slowly as time passes.

Coming back to the illusion of doer ship...

The illusion of doer ship is the biggest problem in this world.

The illusion of doer ship leads to song lyrics like the following.

1. "We're prisoners walking through this world all along." -- The Eagles. (Desperado)

2. "To the game we stay a slave." -- Metallica. (Wherever I may roam.)

3. "Welcome my son, welcome to the machine...what did you dream? It's alright we told you what to dream." -- Pink Floyd (Welcome to the machine.)

Summary:

Breathing happens on its own, emotions and moods come and go on their own, thoughts that hurt cannot be stopped, events that hurt cannot be stopped, still the person thinks he or she has control over his or her life. The fact is that the person has no control over the events of his or her life. Life happens to the person, the person is not in control.

The evolving Buddha realises this and accepts everything as it is. And peacefully waits for the point where he or she can rise up and take control of his or her life, become a doer. This point is 'enlightenment'.

My Conclusions:

Nature does not allow doership (freewill) to be given to people with hostile emotions.

Taking over control of one's life is not possible through violence, it cannot be forced. Control comes on its own at enlightenment - i.e. after complete acceptance of life as it is.

The violence that manifests in this world...one could say its just the 'whole' going through a work-in-process phase in which it is cleansing humanity. No one is doing it. It is all happening on its own.