Tuesday, January 5, 2016
Lesson 5: “I am never upset for the reason I think.”
Getting upset is a part of our human condition. We have this emotional system that is capable of managing our emotional worlds. We all grow up in the world that teaches us that our reasons for being upset are outside of us and are impossible to change or even affect slightly. The world tells us that our only option is to learn how to stay steady enough on the emotional roller coaster in which we find ourselves. We think all we can do is just hold on tight and give in to the drama and trauma we experience at hand.
We are often so rocked by this emotional roller coaster we end up doing all sorts of other managing behaviors such as being critical or being negative or getting addicted to our own pain. We often then manage in the world with addictions of sorts because we think the emotional roller coaster is so painful that we deserve some solace. Therefore we do things like drink and binge and spend money without reserve. We often learn that this manifestation of our insanity into these unhelpful behaviors is the only way to survive our agony over the emotional intoxication.
We are always faced in the world with all kinds of choices about how to live with the emotional insanity. We try to feed ourselves with worldly goods instead of what is the true source of our comfort and nourishment- which is only God. The getting upset is a huge deal because we are all effected emotionally. There is no human that does not have feelings and does not face the distress of upset. We can remember that this is a common thing for all people thus we can have compassion for ourselves for our being faced with it.
The world has all kinds of drama to meet the drama we discover inside when we let the ego do its thing. We have to stop and remind ourselves what the Course teaches, we can completely change the way we think and therefore our emotional state as well- as this is a direct result of thinking certain things. We just have to realize that all the stickiness that we have felt in the world’s solution of this emotional challenge is actually easy to dispel. We learn here that our minds are a direct result of what we think. This is why we are trained here to acknowledge that this is an area we can have perfect strength with the resolve to simply change what we think. We see this for what it is and then we keep checking back into the task of doing our part as being the one who is in charge of what we choose.
The power comes from God and our minds. All we have to do is understand how easy this is so we no longer hesitate in the carrying out of our faith that this can be done effectively. We do our part in bringing the awareness of our willingness to choose properly God’s plan. Then all is well and all is done in His name and with his power. We just have to add our own sense of empowerment to the equation and be the vessel for God’s love. We do this when we allow old ego thoughts to be undone and instead fill our minds with God’s Love and presence.