A Course In Miracles Lesson 25

A Course In Miracles Lesson 25 states:

I do not know what anything is for.

Rest assured, A Course In Miracles is not asking us to self-induce dissociative madness.  The question that today’s lesson raises is a more fundamental one about the true purpose of this world which, at this time, we really do not have awareness of.  Even if our daily goals have a relative sense of purpose, there is still a sense of emptiness which we evade examining by keeping busy.  Today ACIM wants us to look towards that empty quality and simply see it.

Of course we understand that a pen is for writing.  But do we really understand what we are writing or why?  Of course we understand that a cell phone is for talking to someone (along with thousands of other functions) But do we really know why we are calling or what we really want to say to them?  

The obvious function of day-to-day tools is not being questioned here.  This lesson is inviting us to look past physical objects and their surface-level functions to locate a sense of true, eternal purpose and meaning.  True purpose and meaning are eternal and enduring.  That is why it can be located anywhere from any prompted thing.  All will lead to it if we let it.

Why are we engaging in the activities that currently hold our attention?  What are we striving to achieve and why?  What is the purpose of our actions each day?  What would happen if we put those actions down?  A Course In Miracles Lesson 25 suggests that we make a bit of space in our confidence levels and consider six times today that we do not really know what anything is for.

Because we do not have a ubiquitous awareness in our limited physical bodies we are not able to see all the ramifications of our actions.  But don’t let this notion send you into a state of inaction or uncertainty of what to do.  This may cause feelings of despair for the part of us that felt certain we understood this world.  But ultimately, this statement is a stepping stone towards a stronger foundation of logic and a more enjoyable attitude towards life.

We have a split mind.  You can literally see two half and it is well-known that those halves function independently of each other in a system of agreed isolation, sharing information when it is good for both to do so but also functioning as two separate systems.  One part of our mind is connected to Truth and eternal peace.  This part of us can never be lost or separated from the Source Field that created and holds all of reality in unity of connection.  Another part of our mind is exploring the idea that we have separated from the Unified Field of Creation and can somehow exist outside of it, alone.  This part of our mind is in error because separation from the Source of our origin is simply not possible.  You can not stop being connected to what is.  

You can however convince yourself of anything at all and that is what the ego (separate) part of our mind has done.  This course is a process of navigating ego logic back towards true reality.  The fact is, we are not alone.  We do not exist outside of the connective Field of Creation.  That Field is a deep, profound, and constant resource for us on a second by second basis in this life.  This course is a process of navigating ego logic back towards true reality.  True purpose can never be found if we are functioning under the ego logic that believes we are isolated and disconnected from our Source.  From this perspective, we can never understand the true purpose of a pen or a pillow.  

ACIM wants us to recognize that most of the interests we have in our day-to-day life have been shaped by ego logic which functions under the belief that we are alone and vulnerable to attack.  Goals founded on these beliefs need to be examined and guided.  Most of us do not have a conscious awareness of functioning from ego-motivated goals.  The ego does not want us to see that source of motivation because if we saw it, we would see its error at once.  The ego part of us frequently induces a forgetful, blank-mind experience to prevent our discovering its misguided motives.  Today’s lesson may have triggered a resistance and confusion because it is pointing out something the ego does not want to acknowledge.  

When I consider that I do not know what anything is for I begin the process of aligning my activities and goals with true lasting meaning and purpose by acknowledging the error of my ego-based reasoning.  Our purpose on earth is to expand qualities of peace and creation.  Peace and creation are what we are.  Look at where your activities actually lead.  What energy is created by them?  Do they bring peace or strain?  Today’s lesson is asking us indirectly to ask, “What is it all for?” and to acknowledge we do not really know.  But the lesson does not just leave us there.  It answers the question when it states, “Everything is for your own best interest.”

“My own best interest” is a complex phrase hinting that interest is at the heart of all-purpose and meaning.  Our attention to and our interest in something is the source of all meaning.  We imbibe meaning into what we do.  We define for ourselves what it will mean if we earn that reward or marry that person.  We shape all the meaning this world holds and our ability to shape meaning is hampered by the fact that we are making decisions based on past experiences rather than present awareness.

Everything in this world is here for our own best interests.  Why?  Because God (the joyful creator of more and more joy) wants only our joy.  To that end, everything around us is a possible tool to learn how to reconnect with the joy of creation.  This journey of reconnection begins with the recognition that currently we have established our life activities on an unstable foundation of logic which believes we are alone and on our own.  Ego goals currently drive our motivations.  Pursuing ego-driven goals will always lead to experiences of meaninglessness and pain.

“Personal interests” are not possible to have.  All interests exist in a contextual Field of relationships.  We are all connected.  What you do with your life matters.  When the ego part of our mind operates solely from personal interest we are unhappy.  Our ego does not know what anything is for.  Part of us needs guidance and correction because it lives in a state of disconnection.  The way to mend this experience o disconnection is made clear in today’s lesson when it says, 

“It is crucial to your learning to be willing to give up the goals you have established for everything.”

This is not asking you to give up your goals.  It is asking you to realign those goals with a more stable source of motivation.  Activities that do not pursue connectivity and creative life-affirming expression are misguided.  Do what you like to do in life from an interest in expanding a connection with the inherently spiritual nature of meaning and purpose.  Connect your activities to the Presence of peace and creativity that is eternally available.