I wish to ask you about what A Course in Miracles means by Holy Relationship. In one area of the book it talks about "entering the ark" together, and it almost sounds like you need one other specific person to be able to awaken. Therefore, I believe I approach each new person with the expectation that maybe THIS could be the relationship that reflects enlightenment in my experience, and I to them! Am I taking this too literally? Or do you really have to have another to assist you awaken?

I appreciate your time so much and many thanks for your help in my experience and others. I many thanks and I thank God for you. Namaste.

David Hoffmeister: Thanks for your openness and your willingness to appear deeply at what is underneath these topics and issues. A Course in Miracles teaches that the split mind contains both the issue (the ego) and the Solution (the Holy Spirit). When they are brought together, only One remains.

The human body and the world are always the focus of ego's perspective, because of it seeks to create real problems and struggles on earth and to prevent the inner Healing Correction of the Holy Spirit. The ego's distorted world is the item of identity confusion, an outpicturing of the belief that it's possible to create an identity which God did not create. The ego is this identity problem and it absolutely was Answered or forgiven by the Holy Spirit the instant it appeared to arise. This one problem could be described as an authority problem or a confusion in who's mcdougal of Reality. The mind that believes in the fact of the time-space cosmos has a get a grip on issue, because of it believes that it can make itself. This ego mind also thinks it's in competition with God, although this really is pushed out of conscious awareness. This unconscious ego thought system is exposed in the A Course in Miracles Workbook lessons, and Lesson 13 contains a great example with this unveiling:

"A meaningless world engenders fear because I believe I'm in competition with God."

That is the start of training the mind to forgive, for the focus is brought back to the mind, back to thinking, and recinded from the body and the world. Anorexia, weight issues, body image issues, and interpersonal relationship issues are examples of projection, of seeing the issue where it's not: in the world. teacher of teachers The mind cannot tolerate the belief in a battle with God, and this belief is pushed out of awareness. The deep-seated control issue this type of belief entails is then projected to the body and the world. Weight control, like any attempt to control the script or the body, is an attempt to control the past. The Holy Spirit teaches that days gone by can only be forgiven or released or viewed as false—not fixed or controlled or changed.

The same ego dynamic is underneath interpersonal relationship struggles of power and control, of wanting to fix or change an individual or a self-image. Personal relationships might seem to sail happily along for awhile, yet the make-believe self-concept IS the personal perspective and thus is always on shaky ground. Decisions are continuous. The Holy Spirit is really a decision. The ego is really a decision. Atonement is the decision that ends all decisions, an acceptance of the changelessness of Mind. The ego is the decision to believe that the mind may be separate from God. Once the mind believed that it had separated and built this time-space world, this time-space world of bodies became its substitute identity, because it believed it'd thrown away the Kingdom of Heaven. The entire world was created up instead identity. The sleeping mind is split on the decision of identity. The Holy Spirit says, "This world is not Identity. This world is an illusion." And thus the Holy Spirit reminds the mind constantly, "This world is not your Home. This world is not your Identity. This world is not real." As the mind is split it's hearing another voice (the ego) that's saying: "You've done it. You've separated from God. You'd better make the very best of it and find something of the world to spot with. You are able to never return back for God will punish you."

Thought-form associations seem to become substitute identity. The ego mind seems to be identified with the body, with family, with environments that seem to surround it (i.e., I'm an American, Japanese, I'm male, I'm female, I'm from a wealthy family, from an unhealthy family, I'm Catholic, Jewish, Protestant, etc.) Most of these are thought-form associations. And these seeming other persons and places surrounding the small personal self are typical part with this construction. The mind is quite shaky concerning this small identity, this small self, this little me. So the small me is shaky, and it appears as though other persons give the small me reality and importance (i.e., you're my son, my daughter, you're my boss, you're a loving father, etc.) and all the different things that these images be seemingly telling this little me be seemingly really important. Praise thus seems extremely important (i.e., you are an individual and you're a great one!).

Praise and acceptance from others SEEM to stabilize this very shaky thing (i.e., you're a great lover, you're a great provider, you're great with the kids, you've an excellent intellect, you've this type of heart, you help serve so many other folks, you're a great team-player, on and on). This part of the self-concept says that you're an individual and you've all of these positive attributes that really allow you to an invaluable and worthy person, that produce you stick out above the crowd. You're not just anyone—you're somebody special. The flip side is criticism, which directly reflects the shaky sense of self. Criticism will be: you're never as great as you think you are, you're not this type of good team player, this type of good provider, so good in bed—all the stuff which are taken as insults to the personal self-concept). That's the flip side of the strokes. To this ego self-concept that believes both parties (the positive and negative) of thinking are real, the Holy Spirit is perceived as a great threat, for the Holy Spirit contributes to the experience of forgiveness or the realization that none of the tiny images perceived as separate have any reality.

When the criticism seems in the future, the ego attempts a substitution. It thinks, "I don't need this. I'll go elsewhere and start other relationships with people who will appreciate my talents and skills and abilities, appreciate my personhood. I'll avoid those negative influences on earth and those negative people. I'll find another individual or join an organization where individuals are like-minded and forget about the rest of the world. These new people will require to me and stroke me and praise me." The attempt at substitution is an attempt to keep a feeling of specialness, a feeling of separation, a feeling of individuality (a private mind with private thoughts). Those attempts are special love relationships. They appear to bolster worth and value and to validate personhood. And they give you a false witness for clinging to the ego as identity. To the ego, past associations serve to offer personhood some sense of stability and consistency and value. Yet, the Holy Spirit demonstrates past associations offer nothing of value, for they certainly were produced by the ego to deny the facts of God's Love.

Holy relationship emphasizes and reflects Content (right-minded thinking) and comes with an awareness of the meaninglessness of form. As the ego's believed relationships will be seemingly specific, yet every one will present a chance to release the belief in specifics. Divine Mind is Abstract and Universal. Forgiveness may be the bridge to the remembrance of Christ and God, Divine Abstraction. Thus the Holy Spirit teaches in A Course in Miracles:

"Once you meet anyone, remember it is really a holy encounter. As you see him you might find yourself. As you treat him you'll treat yourself. As you consider him you'll consider yourself. Remember this, for in him you may find yourself or lose yourself. Whenever two Sons of God meet, they are given another chance at salvation. Do not leave anyone without giving salvation to him and receiving it yourself. For I'm always there with you, in remembrance of you.