Make-believe Driving

As a small child my favorite amusement park ride was the Autopia. It had those pint-sized cars that ran on a fixed track. The functionless steering wheel gave the illusion of driving, although in my youthful glee I believed to be directing the vehicle.

Little did I know that the ride would serve as a perfect metaphor for what we call life. All the effort expended trying to drive circumstances to meet desired goals. The quest for success. The pursuit of happiness. The attempted avoidance, or at least diminishment of suffering.

All the while believing that the world holds functional steering wheels. Meaning: our sense of wellbeing is determined by the actions of us and others. But as we learn in non-dualistic philosophies such as A Course in Miracles, that is not true. There is no free-will here, only its appearance.

Everything we experience is guided by the fixed-track of the ego, leading us on a circular safari of perpetual pain.

The world is false perception. Made by the ego, for the purpose of suffering, it has driven you insane. (W-pII.3.1, W-pI.152.6, T-13.in.1)

Thankfully, within this odyssey of grief lies a key to escape. The first step is the realization that this ride is not as it seems. The locus of control is nowhere to be found within the world. But it does indeed exist. In the mind.

Thus we’d be well-served to steer awareness out of the body and into the realm of true choice. Where our will is not only free, but certain to align with perfect peace.

Join me in Thursday’s class where we’ll discuss the nature of free-will, and how we can use our seemingly self-directed intentionality to lead us beyond sorrow and into the welcoming arms of joyful serenity. I look forward to seeing you then.