Email Dec 16 2004

Howdy, friends:
I'm a first-time poster here. I picked up Gary's "Disappearing Universe" not realizing
it was a sales pitch for "A Course In Miracles" (I would not have purchased it if I
had known this), but now am grateful that I did, although I still have
problems with his celestial visitors (if only he'd videotaped them
or something!).
The DU sent me to the ACIM text, which I'm moving through slowly.
If nothing else, ACIM challenges me to really view forgiveness in a
more profound manner - 're-view,' really, and make sure I'm covering
all the spaces and places it implies. This has been very helpful,
and I'm truly grateful.
At the same time, I cannot view a creation so magnificent and
overwhelming as the physical universe as a 'mistake.' Nor can I
abandon the physical body. I much prefer Sri Aurobindo's
and Mother Mira Alfasa's heroic efforts to 'divinize' the material
realms - which I personally believe is part of what at least I am
called to do. I attempt to keep an open communication going with
my cells, molecules, and convince them that death is merely a bad
habit that can be overcome once they realize that they are merely
'slowed-down' light, and light itself equals love and consciousness
on various of its subtler levels. In other words, I do not
experience a duality between 'heaven' - God's realms - and the
manifesting universe. I also wonder if the dualism inherent in this
thinking has been dealt with in ACIM, which claims to be teaching
non-duality.
I view the life form as entwined in a million-year-long love
affair with the Solar Logos, gradually awakening to itself as
the sun manifesting on the planetary level, climbing ever closer
from the ocean depths to the land to the air to space in a
phototropic attempt to merge with the light. Also I don't 'hate'
the ego, which is only doing its 'thing' as a survival mechanism.
I once 'chased' my ego down in an afternoon meditation, and
symbolically cornered it in a cave. When I came up upon it, it
turned out to be a cowering, terrified little 'creature,' part of
myself who wsa so tired of being put down and hunted all the
time. So we became friends, and I promised that it too would
achieve absorption into Source when the rest of me got there.
I suppose there's no real response to all this, except to
say 'Different strokes for different folks...' but I must say
that I do perceive holes in the ACIM's purportedly nondualistic
approach.
May She Who Manifests First from the Unmanifest Continue
To Shower Us With Her Blessings,

Ramon