It's funny, but perfectionism can often get in the way of me reading the Course. I make all sorts of excuses like, "Well, I need to start the workbook again, but I should start from the beginning and do all exercises exactly as written." It gets to the point where I can't even open the Course because I think to myself, "I need to start reading at such-n-such a place...."
Lately, I'm remembering something written about in THE MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT A COURSE IN MIRACLES. In that book, the authors write that the only way to do the Course is the "wrong way." What they mean is, you can't be perfectionistic about it. Perfectionism is a way of keeping you from reading the Course.
I remember years ago, in my early 20s, meeting a young lady who told me her parents had been reading the Course since she was a little girl. She then said to me, "Oh, let's open the Course and see where the page falls open and read whatever is there." I was surprised by this simple approach. The book fell open to one of the Workbook lessons, somewhere in the middle of the Workbook. She started to read the lesson. I then asked her, "How long ago did you go through the Workbook?" She responded that she had never been through the Workbook from beginning to end. She just opened the Workbook and read whatever page the book fell open to. I was so surprised to consider that you could read the Course in such an unstructured way.
Lately, I'm taking that young lady's advice. I'm just reading the Course wherever it falls open. My perfectionism about structured study of the Course is obviously an excuse to not read it, and thereby not practice what it teaches.
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Hello! Yes, the ego certainly likes to make you feel like you are doing the Course wrong! That's because it suspects that you are NOT guilty. The ego will try everything to confuse us. I remember trying to do my workbook lessons, and the phone would ring, or someone would knock on the door, lol!
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I also just open the Course to whatever page, then start reading. It helps so much, especially when I am having a specific problem that I need guidance for. The Course is basically tell us the same message on every page. That we are in Heaven, and that Who we are can not be changed. Thanks so much for this post!
Hi Mariah,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the response. I read Disappearance of the Universe back when it first came out. Actually, to be honest, I read it before it came out. I know the original publisher, D. Patrick Miller. He sent me an early review copy for Amazon.
Take care,
Andrew