A helpful talk on working with upsets! A Course in Miracles is aimed at “removing the blocks to the awareness of love’s presence, which is your natural inheritance.” T-In.1 David Hoffmeister shares some practical steps of how to uncover these blocks. The most important thing is not to hide or protect anything.
When you allow the darkness to come up into the light, it disappears and dissolves gently. The mind is afraid of love but this can be difficult to grasp. It can be outside of your awareness; very pushed down. A practical question to ask is: If I’m afraid of love and I’m defensive, what is it I’m hiding and protecting?
It is actually the made-up self-concept that you defend. You fear that who you think you are will disappear and dissolve into the Love. To get to what is being defended is an experiential journey. It is helpful to get practical and question the thoughts when they arise.
David shares his experience of working with the ACIM daily lessons 5, 6, 7, and 8 whenever an upset would arise. An upset is when a feeling that comes up that is not peaceful: jealousy, anger, annoyance, disease. You might think that you are upset for a reason that is beyond your control. You feel like you are reacting to a situation in the world. Jesus teaches that this is not true.
Lesson 5 reminds you: “I am never upset for the reason I think.” Lesson 6 gives the thought: “I am upset because I see something that is not there.” Lessons 7 and 8 follow with: “I see only the past” and “My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts.” Wow! Nothing that you perceive as going on in the outside world is really happening in the moment. It is not there in reality. In using these upsetting situations to practice mind-watching, you can remove blocks to the awareness of your true identity.
It is in working with the blocks that you make the most headway. You can identify the blocks. You can question thoughts that come up instead of instinctively reacting to them. This takes practice. Practice mind-watching. Offer the thoughts up to the Spirit. The Holy Spirit acts like a soft light, gently dissipating everything that you uncover and offer up. This is an experiential release. Practice.