"As long as you perceive the body as your reality, so long will you perceive yourself as lonely and deprived."
-A Course In Miracles
In my life and my work, I've found that the vast majority of our struggling and suffering can be boiled down to one thing... a case of mistaken identity. A fundamental mis-understanding about who we really are.
Most people have thoughts about who they are, but they are almost always inaccurate. That's one of the things that you'll learn from exploring my work, is that just because you have certain thoughts about yourself or the world, doesn't make them true. It just turns out that the truth really is the only thing that will set us free. Consequently, it is worth seeing where we are wrong about ourselves, and where to look for truth.
One of the most common examples of mistaken identity is that we think we are our bodies. We live in a body obsessed culture, so it's not really any surprise that this is the case. If you pick up 9 out of 10 magazines, you will find multiple articles on staying fit, losing weight, fighting old age, prolonging beauty, or covering up blemishes.
The industries associated with the body, drive a large portion of the worlds economy. Just think about it... everything to do with food, clothing, exercise, sex/pleasure, anti-aging, medicine and pharmaceuticals are all associated with the body. It's all about having a better body, younger body, sexier body, more athletic body, or a healed body.
There are thousands of myths surrounding the body, a few of which I'd like to clear up before I get much further. Most people think that having a healthier, younger, more attractive body is the source of a more wonderful life. In our society we think beautiful bodies have more fun, they have a higher level of mental well-being and peace of mind, and they experience a lot more love and connection in their lives. But, as someone who worked in the health and fitness industry for many years, believe me when I say that most of the personal trainers, fitness instructors, models, nutritionists, and health experts are every bit as insecure, anxious, self-conscious, and miserable as everybody else, and more often than not, more so.
The body is a false idol, and we have been taught to worship it.
Here's the bad news that none of these health and beauty industries are keen to point out: your body is designed to decay, and will absolutely 100% die some day. "No-Body" makes it out of this physical world alive.
We are not our bodies, and yet we have bodies. I would never tell you to neglect them, treat them poorly, or forsake them... for that is simply another form of worship. When we worship the body, either through special love or hate, we identify ourselves as a body, and in doing so, create tremendous limitation and suffering, because it's not the truth of who we are.
If you were to believe with absolute certainty that you are a body and nothing else, here's what's on offer:
- You get to be separate from every other human being, destined to wander the earth trying to connect with other separate bodies, but always in vain... because sex is about as close as it gets when it comes to bodies, and most of you know just how fleeting sex can be when you are looking for a deeper connection.
- You get to look forward to certain death. Endedness! You, ceasing to exist.
- You get to suffer from insecurity and low self-esteem because you think you are your body, therefore your very being is something that is slowly decaying and accumulating more and more maladies.
- If it's not upon you already, you will almost certainly be plagued by illness, disease, and pain.
- If you believe you are a body, all of the desperate attempts to prolong death, and hold onto your youthful appearance make perfect sense. But if you are not a body, it is totally insane.
It's a pretty bleak picture indeed, if you were your body. But here's the good news, you are not a body. None of us are. We are all of us, a Mind.
Now, let me be clear. We are not a brain... which is very much a part of the physical body and does what the Mind tells it to, just like the rest of the body.
The Mind is something else entirely. It is of spiritual, non physical origins. According to A Course In Miracles, we are simply extensions of the Mind of God. A mind so powerful it can conjure bodies just like we conjure bodies in our dreams while we sleep at night. We worship the body, and yet it is simply a puppet, and the Mind is the puppet master.
There are actually two aspects to the mind, which I will discuss further in another article, but suffice it to say that the aspect representing who you really are turns out to be beautiful. Our true origins rest in a Mind that knows only love, peace, and joy. It knows nothing of the experiences of separation, suffering, and misery. All of our problems stem from us having truly forgotten our mighty source. We are asleep to this truth, and so all there really is to do, is begin to wake up to it.
We are all of us deeply connected to this Divine Mind, so beautiful that any and all words fail to do it justice. All I can hope to do is point you in the direction of it. Rest assured, however, that as you identify yourself more and more with this Mind, your life will get more and more wonderful.
As you begin this journey of self discovery, know that it can't be found in the the physical world, which is a world of false idols. The body is simply one of the predominant idols of this world. Idols, will not and can not replace the extraordinary beauty of the mind. This leaves us with only one choice... remember who we are, or continue to suffer.
On this journey, it's important to know that we can only really look in the direction of this Mind, by knowing where not to look first. All you have to do is keep looking and exploring. There will come a point where you can't help but glimpse the truth of who you are. And from that point on, you can never unsee and never forget that beauty.
It is in your identification with this truth, that you will find your freedom. Unconditional Love, Peace, Joy, Connection... these are not states that can be attained or manufactured, nor do they need to be. They are what your mind is made of. They are what you are made of. And all you have to do to unveil this truth, is to look for it, and as you see it more and more clearly, you will recognize it as your home coming.
Right now, most people have placed their allegiances, too heavily in the body and the world of false idols to recognize this truth. Lay these allegiances aside. They have only caused you suffering. With patience, time, and a little vigilance, you will come to see that all that you ever wanted to get from the body, you already are as Mind.
With all of the love of the Mind
Tyler
