Icons, images, and identities such as Jesus and Buddha are held very personally in the separated mind. Even these universal metaphors need to be released from the limited ways in which we think of them so that we are not offended by another’s identifications, pictures, or associations with them. Have you ever felt embarrassed about discussing Jesus in public? Have you ever felt afraid to curse, as if you might upset an anthropomorphous god?
David shares that this takes “a lot of washing free of any of the connotations of the words … you might say that when you do see the images, that is part of the forgiveness of letting go of meaning. Christ is not a male or female, man or woman.”
In A Course in Miracles, Jesus says, “Forgive me your illusions” (T-19.8) meaning, forgive yourself for your own interpretations.
Spirituality doesn’t “belong” to any one church or set of beliefs. Everything is for the purpose of watching how the mind is so easily disturbed by these things. Notice the feelings that you have around the words. David Hoffmeister discusses his own mind-watching as he began discussing Jesus in public. He noticed a sense of embarrassment at first.
You can see what emotions come up when you speak words out loud or in front of a crowd. You can watch your own reactions. Another way to uncover your unconscious beliefs (and the associations and meanings that words and images hold for you) is to notice your reactions to movies. Forgive yourself for your own interpretations of the symbols in front of you.
Nothing is sacred, no belief or set of beliefs, except the Love that holds them. Only that is sacred.