Tuesday Text: Chapter 4: The Ego's Struggle to Preserve Itself, S 1: The Last Foolish Journey

Class Notes 9/15/26

Tuesday Text Class

Ch 4: The Ego’s Struggle to Preserve Itself

S 1: The Last Foolish Journey

           “Go the extra mile,” is a saying that comes from the Gospels. If a soldier asks you to carry his heavy pack for a mile, go two miles. This does not suggest that you set him back on his journey or judge his journey. Devotion to a brother can’t set you back either. It leads to mutual progress. Genuine devotion leads to inspiration. The true meaning of inspiration is action. To be fatigued/tired is to be disspirited or discouraged and gloomy. To be inspired is to be in the spirit. To be egocentric is to make yourself dispirited. To be self centered in the right sense is to be inspired or in the spirit. The truly inspired are enlightened and can’t abide to live in darkness. 

           Do not attempt to break God’s copyright. This statement can be read two ways. The first way alludes to copyright problems surrounding ACIM. The main point is only God can create you. You can’t recreate yourself as you wish to be. Your authorship, what you create doesn’t mean recreating yourself, but creating like him. From a place of love and expansion.

          Embarrassment is a form of fear and a dangerous one because it reflects egocentricity. Things that are true are not embarrassing. Embarrassment is always an expression of egocentricity. You can’t be embarrassed by your own words unless you believe that you are responsible for them. You are free to choose the author of your thoughts. Are these the thoughts you think with God or ego thoughts? You choose to speak from your spirit or ego. Be still and know that God is your creator and where you belong. We are bringing the kingdom. These are inspired words because they come from a place of knowledge. If you choose to speak with ego you are denying knowledge rather than affirming it. You are disspiriting, hiding your light. 

          The disspirited those lead by the ego have no choice except to be narcissistic. To be self obsessed is to place your faith in the unworthy. Your real worth is your creation by God. Your spirit acknowledges this. Jesus can only be your guide as you associate your mind with your spirit. If you are wrapped up in self creation you are not ready for his Course. Attacking misidentification errors isn’t Jesus’ job or ours. We are not here to point out others' mistakes. Destroying the devil or ego action is meaningless. In Don Quixote he sees himself as unworthy because he identifies as his ego and sees its weakness. Rather than fixing the misperception he inflates his ego. 

          Ego trips won’t get you anywhere. The ego is hungry and foolish. The spirit won’t go on ego trips because it won’t depart its foundation in God. The journey to the cross should be the last foolish journey for any mind. The journey to the cross seems to end in death. Don’t dwell on the end of your body. Dismiss it as accomplished, it’s all been done and it’s all been written. Do as Jesus did and rise above the world of form. Accept that your ego has made its last foolish journey and join Jesus in resurrection and rebirth.

          We needlessly waste time with repetition compulsion. We repeat past traumatic events unconsciously literally or in a dream. We reenact the separation, loss of power, the ego’s foolish attempts to make it right and finally the body dies. This repetition can be endless unless they are given up by active creation. We create with God instead. We strive to pass ACIM as our only goal.