CHAPTER I

Questions – Can separation be healed by separating?

Please read Ch 13 of NG

Dear Heart,

Your answers contribute to the whole truth. Please answer from the very depths of our heart and true knowing. My answers are mine. They may be right for you or not. If not, please, trust yourself and dive deep within for your own right answers. There is only one truth, and we might both be right, or we might both be wrong. When we keep an open mind, we both benefit from eachothers contribution to truth and the whole world benefits. When we are willing to be wrong, willing to question every value and belief we have ever held dear, we allow truth to dawn once again upon our minds.

These questions are intended to elicit your own inner knowing. Trust yourself. Trust that you have the truth within. My answers are intended to be a counter balance to guide you to your own inner knowing, not to set me up as the only one who knows the truth, by any means.

God's peace be with you and thank you for your participation, through which I believe you are contributing to the transformation of the world. By being willing to transform your heart and mind from ego consciousness to God consciousness the whole world benefits.

Answers – Can the separation be healed by separating? NO

What is oneness? Unity, harmony, connectedness, communion, true communication, perfect equality, perfect love, interdependence… What does it mean to be one with God? To be equal with God, connected, in joyful communion, to be friends, on good terms, comfortable... Is God greater than you? Nope. Are you the same as God? Yes. Why is that hard to fathom? We made an ego to be different from how we were created and ego convinced us that we are less than God and that God is fearful. To be equal with God would require personal responsibility for that which we've put the onus on God, like suffering and death… Are you connected with God? Yes, when God created us He placed Himself in our minds and us in His mind. There's no place where God ends and His creation begins. What is different? God is the central figure in His mind, while I am the central figure in my mind and you are the central figure in yours. God created us and we cannot create Him, though we can create like Him. God created us to create uniquely, so my creations will be unique, within me, and I within them. I will be their creator and they cannot create me though they can create like me. It's an ever expanding, holographic idea - the part is whole and the whole is in every part.

What does it mean to be one with everyone? To be equal, to love everyone – no exceptions, to respect and honor everyone totally, to live together in peace and harmony, to know that we were all created by God as a gift for each other to enhance each other's joy. How would a state of oneness with everyone look? We'd have peace instead of wars, meaningful, purposeful, joyful relationships, we'd all want everyone to be happy and blessed, and do all we could to manifest that. We'd want the end of suffering for everyone. Is an enlightened one greater than one who is not enlightened? No, the only difference between an enlightened one and one who is not enlightened is that the enlightened one knows there is no difference, while the unenlightened one still sees difference where there is none. An enlightened one not deluded by ego, while an unenlightened one is under ego's spell.

What is separation? A descent from magnitude to littleness, a failure in communication, leading to an experience of division, conflict, hatred, attack, fear, inequality, specialness, judgment, sickness, pain… What does it mean to be separate from God? To think that God is the cause of suffering, that God does not love us, that God is vengeful, punishing…What caused separation from God? An idea of lack, a desire for an independent will, autonomy, self-authorship, special favor… from which ego was made to replace God. Is separation possible? No, because God created us one with Him for all eternity. We can think separation possible and experience separation, but we cannot make it real..

Do you have a connection with others? Yes. Is anyone excluded? No. On what basis? People exclude on the basis of misperceptions, grievances, misunderstandings, judgments…What caused separation from others? Projection of guilt for separating from God.

Do you have a mind? Yes. Do you have a soul? Yes. What are the characteristics of mind and soul? Mind is free to err while soul does not have that freedom. Mind is part of the soul and can think itself separate from the soul, but cannot achieve separation. Soul is unaffectably perfect forever while mind can think it possible to be different from how it was created. Soul cannot experience separation, autonomy or self-authorship while mind can. Soul cannot conceive of an ego, while mind can manifest one. Soul knows, love and creates, while mind has freewill and choice, though it derives its power from the soul. The mind can be healed through forgiveness and miracle-mindedness while soul is whole for all eternity therefore does not need healing. Are mind and soul connected? Yes, though mind can enter an experience of separation from soul, from God and from fellowman. It will be an illusory experience, a dream that never happened in truth for we are all irrevocably one. God is both Mind and Spirit perfectly one and He created us in His image, so that is our truth as well, though our experience may differ from the truth. What is separation of mind from spirit? An idea that mind adopted to achieve self-authorship. Is it achievable? No, for God created mind and soul inseparable and so it is.

What purpose could separation serve? 1. Assuage guilt by projecting it onto someone outside of oneself. 2. Specialness, which must come in relation to others who are different - has to do with comparisons, winning special favor. 3. Immunity from the suffering of the world, another's pain is not your responsibility. 4. Independence – freedom to act in isolation.

How do we experience separation in the form of projecting guilt? Adam had to separate from Eve in his mind in order to blame her for making an ego to take God's place. In that act, he entered an experience where she was outside of his mind and thus became who he wanted her to be rather than who God created her to be. What other forms does separation take? We separate by misperceiving others on the basis of behavior, skin color, history, race, gender, nationality, gossip, hearsay, religion, social status, jobs, class distinction, ability to persuade… God created us all equal and any distinctions are due to projecting what is not there.

How do we experience separation in the form of inequality? We think we are less than God, less or greater than others; the Nazi's thought the Jews on a par with dogs, the Whites thought the Blacks subhuman, The Native Americans were seen as savages, the Pope is thought to be God, the doctor's word is final, the president is seen as more powerful than anyone else, a husband may think himself superior to his wife, some Muslims think women inferior and Americans to be heathens… these unreal thoughts give reality to the idea of inequality, which is ego's weapon. As long as we think these thoughts we make separation real.

How do we experience separation in the form if specialness? Children who want their parents to love them more than their brothers or sisters, teacher's pet, wanting attention, wanting to be better than, wanting to be seen, doing with and for others to win their favor perhaps at a loss of integrity, trying to buy love, wanting God to love us more than others, thinking we are better than or more persecuted, participating in exclusive clubs like religions that claim to be the only way… Is it ok to want to be special? We are all unique and special. However, to want to stand out is to want to be different from how God created us. It can only lead to unhappiness and pain rather than the satisfaction we were hoping to achieve. What is a special relationship? A relationship where two come together to fill a lack, to get something they don't already have, based on need rather than love. It is a false relationship. Special love turns to special hate, and is fed on the belief in separation. What is a holy relationship? One where two come together to enhance each other's joy rather than fill a lack. Each has recognized that he is whole and complete and in need of nothing, but finds his joy enhanced in the company of another, whole as himself.

When is marriage a special relationship? When you think you need a partner to fill a lack or complete you, when sex has strings or produces guilt, when you think you need sex to be loved, to have children… Is sex a legitimate need? No, we are not our bodies and to think we need sex is to think we are not whole and complete as God created us. If you think you need sex then you think your body more powerful than your all-powerful mind. You will not die if you do not have sex. When is marriage a holy relationship? When both know they are whole and complete. When both know that their marriage is ordained by God, when their sexual expression is love and joy and has no strings or guilt, when both are willing to correct errors in themselves and see the holiness in each other. How does a holy relationship contribute to the salvation of the world? Two voices raised as one call to the hearts of all to beat as one. As we unite, we gain momentum and ego loses it hold. Uniting overcomes separation and ego depends on separation for its survival.

Is marriage of God or of the world? As with everything it depends on what you choose to make of it. It is of God when two come together for a holy purpose and of the world when two come together to fill a lack. A special relationship can be transformed into a holy one. We can always change our minds without needing to change our circumstances. Everything can be used. When is divorce legitimate? When your partner is unfaithful. How do we overcome marital problems if divorce is not an option? We have to face our problems, be willing to do whatever it takes to truly unite, be willing to be wrong and willing to ask Spirit to help us find our oneness. With God all things are possible, even the healing of impossible marriages. All we really need do is want healing and let God do the rest.

Is marriage to be limited to one man and one woman? Yes. Why or why not? As soon as you bring another into the sacred container, you are looking through the eyes of body consciousness rather than God consciousness. There can be no holiness in seeking for sexual gratification outside of a sacred commitment. What is your position regarding homosexual relationships? I think they are not based on God's laws, therefore are not holy. They have to do with body consciousness. Some homosexuals are afraid of heterosexual relationships and so have gravitated to what is easy out of fear of getting hurt, fear of rejection… Homosexuality is a choice. If we think we have no choice about it, it is because we think we are our bodies. You are not your body, you are mind and spirit as God created you. If you are a homosexual, you can always choose again, for a heterosexual relationship or if that's too difficult a transition, abstinence is also a choice. We are not our bodies and so we do not need sex in order to live.

When is abstinence right? When used to reach enlightenment, when you don't want the responsibility of marriage. When is it wrong? When its easier, when used to give you a false identity, when used to think yourself holier than those who are have relationships. The householder path is the fastest path to God because it requires self-control. The path of abstinence is easier but takes longer. Traditionally, men who abstain remove themselves from society to avoid temptation. If a couple has eyes only for each other, their relationship is pure and they have achieved a holy relationship. Should you be sexual with your partner if his eyes are roaming? No, for if you do, you contribute to body consciousness. Only sexual purity can content us. Jesus said in the Bible, “I have come to perfect the law. The law tells you not to commit adultery, but I say do not even look at another woman.”

How can specialness be confused with sexual intimacy with one partner? This confusion is due to level confusion. Sexual purity could be seen as giving special favor to one person to the exclusion of others, but this confusion comes from identification with bodies rather than minds. In treating all bodies the same, we give reality to bodies. When we love all as equally precious children of God we are connecting on the level of mind. Does the moral fabric of a society depend on the purity of its women? Yes. Why? When women are pure, men will look for an eternal partner, i.e. he will look with his soul, rather than to satisfy a bodily urge, shifting him from body consciousness to God consciousness. When is purity confused with jealousy, possessiveness, exclusiveness…? If a marriage partner is playing the field, his spouse may be falsely accused to justify inappropriate behavior. This is an example of projecting what is not there to assuage guilt. A spouse who does not understand this dynamic may accept his false accusation and everyone feels guilty while ego thrives. To expect purity is not possessiveness or jealousy, but rather holy, virtuous and true. Purity requires strength and all the power of God constantly in a world where sexual freedom has become the fashion.

What is the body's purpose? The body was made to separate but can be used to heal and to bless. What does body consciousness look like? One who thinks he is his body finds himself a slave to the senses, running after bodily appetites such as lust, greed, addiction to food, sleep, drugs, alcohol, homosexuality, chaotic lifestyle, self-serving, sickness, suffering, loneliness, making choices for special favor rather than from integrity… What does freedom from body consciousness look like? Monogamy or abstinence, ceiling on desires, selflessness, noble character, healthy body, happy existence, integrity, purity, peace…

What is mind? Formless, all-powerful - whatever we will we manifest through the power of our minds. We bind ourselves or free ourselves depending on the choices we make with our minds. What is Spirit? Also formless, unaffectable for all eternity, source of creative expression, love, knowledge. What does it mean to be one in mind and spirit? God is one of mind and spirit and He created us in His image, thus we too are one in mind and spirit. Mind is part of Spirit. What caused separation of mind from spirit? Mind chose to ally with ego which convinced it to identify with a body rather than with God or Spirit. How do we realign our mind with our soul? By thinking thoughts God would have us think, thoughts of love, joy, peace and brotherhood.

How many souls are there? There are billions, and yet they are all one. How many minds are there? There are billions and yet they are all one. Is it possible to share one mind? Yes. Is it possible to use God's mind when we think? Yes, the part is whole and the whole is in every part. It is not possible to think without using God's mind. What is a split mind? A mind that thinks separation real, that projects, that wants to be special or better.

Are you the lord of your universe? Yes. What does that mean? It means I'm in charge of everything that happens to me, responsible for all my actions and all my experiences. There is no force outside of me more powerful than me, doing things to me against my will. I cannot be a victim. The good news is that with a shift in consciousness, I will manifest different experiences for myself and others too. Why do some ego oriented teachers teach that to mean there is only you and there are no others? Ego wants them to teach it that way so they fool themselves into thinking they have understood oneness while continuing to propagate separation. ‘Since there's only you, it does not matter that you hurt another – they don't really exist anyway,' is ego's trap. If there's only you, you have no responsibility to heal conflict, or overcome anger… Its amazing how a little knowledge can do so much damage when allied with ego. If you hurt another, you are responsible, and the past can be healed.

Can you be both the central figure in your experience and created by God? Yes. Why do some ego oriented teachers teach that you were not created by God as there is nothing outside of your mind? Ego wants them to teach this so they will not have to acknowledge that they made ego to replace God as source and in that way ego continues to survive while they think they have attained oneness.

Can you be the central figure in your experience while there are others who are also the central figures in their universe simultaneously? Yes, mind is infinite and limitless. That is how God created us. We all use the one mind of God. We are each the central figure in our personal and unique experience, complete in and of ourselves. It's a holographic idea. The part is whole and the whole is in every part.

Can you be the central figure of your experience, created by God and equal with everyone all at the same time? Yes, this is the understanding of oneness that we must all come to embrace in order that we be free to be who we really are, free of ego, free of separation on all fronts.

What does it mean that ideas do not leave their source? God created you as an idea in His mind, and as He did not change His mind, you are in His mind forever, exactly as He created you. God is an idea in your mind as well, and though you can think you don't know God, you cannot really fool yourself. Ego is also an idea in our mind, though ego is an idea that we placed there without God, against God's will. Ego is the cause of all that is not Godly and when we look at it calmly and see that it is an imposter, we are free of it. Real ideas are eternal and can never leave their source, while unreal ones must be relinquished or transformed so that reality be our experience. Ego is an idea of separation, a statement that ideas can leave their source and a way to keep us from being responsible. We cannot exclude, reject or get rid of true ideas or change them in any way by projecting them out. Miracles transform unreal ones back into real ones when we stop insisting that the unreal is real and when we become miracle minded.

Is the world an idea in your mind? Yes, the world is an idea God placed in our mind. What does it mean that the world is a projection of your mind? It means that the real world that God placed in our minds was projected out of our minds in an attempt to make it different from how it was created and to have an experience of separation. Projection is an unreal action of mind as it is not an action God gave us when He created us, therefore the world is in our minds, though we believe that we are in the world. We are the cause of the world rather than an effect being buffeted about by a world outside. We cannot escape the unreal world but we can transform it back into the world God created by allowing it to be in our minds and by allowing it to have a real purpose, namely a place to walk as equals with God and each other.

What are the real ideas in your mind? God, the world, others, all of humanity, peace, love, holiness…What are the unreal ones? Ego and all that comes from alliance with ego – death, illness, poverty, war... How do we interact with real and unreal ideas in our minds? Real ideas are quiet because they are true. Unreal ones are always clamoring for our attention in an attempt at being given reality. We feed them by believing in them and heal them by seeing them clearly, with God as guide. When all we have is real ideas we are free.

If we all share one soul and one mind, are all God's creations the same? We were all created equal, with a true identity, with the same purpose - to love, to create and to know. What is different? Creation is not stagnant, does not use replication or cloning. We each have a unique identity, and are capable of a unique creative expression. God created us free to create creatively. In that we are all different expressions of the one Divine principle. We are each the center of our universe.

If we share the mind and soul of God, how is it possible to have unreal experiences? Mind can think unreal thoughts and convince itself of the reality of unreal experiences, but it cannot change reality. Mind is capable of error as it was created free. If it were not capable of wrong choice it would not be free in the truest sense. Because it is free to err, it is also free to correct mistakes or to take them seriously which would lead to the making of ego and getting lost in time and space for a moment of unreality. This is how we all find ourselves locked in an unreal experience. Is it possible for the soul to have unreal experiences? No, because soul was created eternally unaffectable and cannot don a false identity. Fortunately, since mind and soul are eternally one, we cannot sustain our unreal experience for too long. Now is the time for that unreal experience to end, therefore we find ourselves looking for, recognizing and remembering true teachings.

What heals the separation? Perceiving oneself as mind rather than as body, looking at separation calmly and truly, leading lives in line with oneness, unity, harmony, wanting to heal the separation, wanting to be one with God and everyone and everything, communication, uniting in truth, inclusion, reason, accepting that we are all so much more alike than different, using our bodies to join our minds rather than to separate, knowing that separation is only a thought and thoughts can be changed, recognizing that the continuing will to remain separated is the only possible reason for continuing guilt feelings. Is there separation in a real experience? Sai Baba says, “I separated myself from myself that I might love myself.” ACIM says that God created separate beings who have everything individually, but who want to share it to increase their joy. This idea of separation means unity, inclusion, love, harmony and oneness. I like to think of it as oneness in individuation. We are all whole and complete in and of ourselves and yet separate in the sense that we are all free to create uniquely, for the purpose of enhancing everyone's joy. We are all equal, all included, all seen as precious, holy, innocent, glorious creations of God, no one wanting special favor, everyone desiring the collective good where everyone wins. This is oneness and not separation as ego would have us believe in separation.

What is meant by inclusion? Loving all, no exceptions, seeing all as equally endowed by their Creator, while reserving intimacy for marriage partner only. What needs to be included for a true experience? God, all our fellowman, the world as God created it, life, love, purity, holiness, innocence, peace, joy, mind and heart identification … Excluded? Ego, corruption, guilt, sickness, suffering, death, war, lack, body identification… How can the idea of inclusion be misapplied? You could use it to include that which must be excluded, like corruption, which is ego's idea of inclusion to keep you guilty while thinking you are free.

If you love everyone but make one exception, have you loved anyone truly? No, if you make one exception, you have not understood love, for love includes all or it is not love. If you love one truly, has anyone been excluded? No, when you love one totally, purely, truly, you are love and your love affects everyone for we are all one.

"Let us unite in shining our egos away." ACIM

"There is only one religion, the religion of LOVE.

There is only one language, the language of the heart.

There is only one God and He is omnipresent." Sai Baba

WORKBOOK

Questions – Can separation be healed by separating?

Answers – Can the separation be healed by separating? NO