"I
always wanted to be somebody," said Lily Tomlin, "But I see that I
should have been more specific."
Yet
specific is just what we are. The unique identity we each piece together and defend is made of specifics: this
height, that colouring, this personality and that upbringing.
The building of a
concept of the self is what the learning of the world is for. This is its
purpose; that you come without a self, and make one as you go along...A concept
of the self is made by you. It bears no likeness to yourself at all (T31 V 2).
Until
you change your mind about who you are, you will run into one problem after
another, trying to prop up a self concept that is fundamentally unreal. Changing
your mind is what the course is for: it offers new ideas to replace your limited
and limiting thoughts, and open your mind to a deeper reality.
But
there is a part of us that still wants to be a specific somebody and has no intention
of changing its mind, and this month's workshop theme is one that can really stick in the craw: I am
very holy (W35). The idea has nothing to do with being pious or
long suffering, or doing good deeds. It is about becoming free of your sense of self. Here is the same idea in
other words:
Love,
Which created me, is what I am (W229).
So
what does it mean, and how does it change
who you think you are and what your life is for?
We
meet on Saturday 13th April at Harrow Way, Andover,
from 10.30 am to 2.30 pm. You are welcome to join us.
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