What is the Christ?
Our special theme says, “Christ is the link that keeps you one with God, and guarantees that separation is no more than an illusion of despair, for hope forever will abide in Him.”
This sentence is an invitation for us to become clear on the difference between what is true and what is not true.
Let’s look at the definitions of true, or real, and not true, or illusion.
Yesterday we learned about consciousness, which is the realm of creation and the ability for creation. Consciousness is the direct creation of source. Therefore it is an extension of source and the same as source.
“True” and “real” point to that, to the essence of consciousness and source, which is changeless and eternal.
Temporary appearances are made of consciousness. They are an extension of consciousness just as consciousness is an extension of source. Yet on the surface, they appear to be something other than consciousness. They appear to be thousands upon thousands, actually billions of different names and forms. The temporary things they appear to be are “not true.” They are “illusion,” because each of these things is actually more than it appears to be. Each thing is not its temporary appearance, but the eternal essence of its source.
To become clear on what is true and what is illusion, we will continue to focus on awareness in ourselves and on life in the living things that we encounter throughout the day.
How can illusions satisfy God’s Son?
Today’s lesson asks, “Can dreams content me? Can illusions bring me happiness? What but Your memory can satisfy Your Son?”
Temporary appearances occupy the mind. Temporary appearances give the mind something to think about. Since things are always coming and going, shifting and changing, the mind remains very occupied. This is life to the mind.
However, we are not the mind, and what is life to the mind is actually agitation or suffering for us. It’s like keeping our attention with the restless waves on a stormy sea, fearing what will happen to the wave, while ignoring the changeless nature of the sea at its depths. Focusing on the surface is suffering. Realizing and abiding as the depth is peace.
The practice we have already committed to today is also the practice that will bring us to realize peace. It is the practice of focusing on the depth instead of the surface. We will focus on awareness in ourselves, and we will focus on life in each living thing that we encounter today. It doesn’t matter if the people we encounter seem happy, angry, or afraid. The life in each one is the same. Life-awareness is the changeless depth of our source.
If you have 30 minutes for meditation, I recommend this meditation today:
