Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

I never saw the movie. I have no idea what it’s about. But I love the title.

Let’s talk about that concept of a spotless mind, particularly from the perspective of A Course in Miracles.

Each one of us has a split mind. One part known as ego, and the other, spirit. And in every single moment we are choosing one of those two.

Everything we experience in the world – everything – is the result of that choice.

The challenge is this. Our sensory apparatus can only tell us about the world and our body. There is no ability to perceive the mind.

So if all our worldly experiences are determined by a choice in the mind yet we have no tactile awareness of it, how do we know which choice we made?

By our thoughts.

Think of thoughts as the flow from a hose continually washing over us. The hose is attached to an immense holding tank. In this case, there are two containers, one filled with thoughts of individuality, differentiation, sadness, fear, guilt, lack, anger, stress, and every other negative emotion. That’s the ego.

The other reservoir is filled with thoughts of love, union, oneness, inclusion, peace, and pure joy. The mind of spirit.

When we pay careful attention to our thoughts, we become aware of exactly which “hose” we have chosen.

While we have little control over what other bodies (including microorganisms) do to our body, we have complete control over which hose we allow to engulf our being.

We soon realize that our sense of happiness has nothing to do with what’s going on with our body (or any other body) but instead is the direct result of our thoughts.

To slightly paraphrase Lesson 23, “I can escape from all pain by giving up ego thoughts.”

The ego always leads to experiences of distress and despair – that is all it contains. The mind of spirit, on the other hand, has no darkness. It is truly a spotless mind that reflects nothing but eternal sunshine.

Join me in Thursday’s Zoom discussion where we’ll explore the nature of thought, the split mind, and how we can make a different choice to experience much more happiness. I look forward to seeing you then.