Public Journal

The Buddhist Student Perspective Lesson 52 Reality is never frightening. That is an interesting thought, and I think it's true if you are seeing clearly and not letting your Ego dictate what is true. If you have quieted your Ego and now can see more clearly, it is kind of like watching a play on stage- yes, emotional, but not nearly life and death. As you learn to live in the present, you also learn that the past is gone and can not be changed. There is only now for you to take action. “My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts. (ACIM, W-52.3:1)”, if you live in the past, thinking of regrets of what you should of done, you can find yourself frozen in essence. Now you second-guess every idea or action you come up with, even if a very good intention. One done in love and compassion. The past is gone; only the now exists for real. “My thoughts do not mean anything. (ACIM, W-52.5:1)” This is one of those things that I work with every day. My thoughts are empty; they have no substance till they are made real in action. Most of them that come up can just be ignored, maybe even worked with to just mark them as thoughts and hopefully just get on with real living.

The Buddhist Student Lesson 51 As I said before, no concept of a Creator, but having read this, some interesting ideas indeed. Since we all have Ego, starting near birth we add ideas, name thing, and all around us help us do that. This piles on and on, and with out some kind of intervention the world is seen as an illusion, “Nothing I see means anything.” Now all the world only has meaning for you. Of course other’s illusions cross over and find some harmony but nothing is really real, “I have given what I see all the meaning it has for me.” “I do not understand anything I see”, think about that one for a second, if everything is an ego Illusion, is it real? Do I actually understand anything I see, no probably not. “I am never upset for the reason I think.” Because all that Ego building since birth now can you really trust anything really? The way to start the healing of mind is to start minimizing Ego. The best and surest wey to do do that is daily meditation. Do it every day as much as you can if you can only spend 5 minutes then five minutes. I use the app ever single day to time my mediation.

First just to remind people I'm actually a Buddhist. Having said this, since Buddhist have no concept of God, an original creator, how do I resolve that. Well in Buddhism especially Vajrayana, an offshoot of Mahayana, there is the concept of mind. We are for all intents and purpose all of mind. So God, MInd, sort of seems along the same line. So reading lesson 49, is all about keeping God, I.E. Mind at the forefront and not let Ego, that part that is thinking, and going all over the place take a back seat to what is important. I think the workbook is trying to get us to meditate if you will several times in the day to get in touch with that part that is in touch with God or Mind. Hum.