A Course in Miracles tells us:
“The ingeniousness of the ego to preserve itself is enormous, but it stems from the very power of the mind the ego denies. This means that the ego attacks what is preserving it, which must result in extreme anxiety.”
Read that slowly.
The ego attacks the very thought that sustains it.
We thought up the ego thought system. We put it in place. We learned it and emboldened it. And we are of God. So the ingeniousness the ego uses to defend itself draws on the power of the mind of God, the one power it insists doesn’t exist.
The result is guaranteed anxiety.
Here’s a way to feel how true that is.
Think of what happens when you live with someone who constantly attacks you. Or work with someone like that.
You develop anxiety. You almost can’t help it.
Why?
Because it’s never safe.
- You never know when the attack is coming
- You don’t know what will provoke it
- You don’t know when it will end
Now consider that many of us are that person to ourselves. All day. Every day.
Of course there’s anxiety. Of course we can’t relax.
Attack is never justified. That’s the teaching of A Course in Miracles, and it doesn’t come with an exception for the attack we aim inward.
What do we do with all that anxiety and utter confusion?
We manage it.
We self-medicate. We look for distractions. It might be food, overeating. It might be sex, or flirting for a little recognition, a little approval.
We tap dance all day long, trying to get people to like us and approve of us.
All while refusing to offer that same gift to ourselves.
How nutty is that?
It’s utter confusion expressed in the world of form. Remember, ACIM says, “all thought produces form at some level.”
The good news sits inside the diagnosis.
If the anxiety is produced by self-attack, then healing the attack heals the anxiety at its root.
We don’t have to cope better. We can be free forever.
If you’re ready to do this work of dissolving the habit of self-attack, consider my Finding Freedom From Fear Bootcamp which starts next month.
THIS SATURDAY, August 8 we’re going deeper together in my Deep Dive Workshop, Why Am I So Hard On Myself? If self-attack and criticism is your struggle, come join me. This is a habit that can be dissolved. Two and a half hours. We’ll do the heavy lifting together. YES, I’M GIVING MYSELF THIS GIFT Learn more now
My next FREE Forgiveness Workshops is Saturday August 29. Come as you are, however you can. You don’t have to feel ready. You don’t have to have done any prep work. Your willingness is all that’s required. Click for more info: powerofloveministry.net/forgive
NEW PODCAST EPISODE: The Decision to Forget One ordinary morning, Leon Joel Russell opened A Course in Miracles and hit a single paragraph that stopped him cold for six days. This week Jennifer Hadley sits down with her fellow ACIM teacher to follow where that paragraph led them, into a question most of us spend a lifetime avoiding: what are we actually afraid of, underneath all of it? Where they take it is lighter than the question sounds. Two friends who love the truth, going somewhere worth following.
