A Course in Miracles Monk

As students of A Course in Miracles, we’re not any different from anyone else. We have a right mind, a wrong mind, and the power to choose between the two. That means sometimes we’re jerks. Sometimes we lose our tempers. Sometimes we get irritated and annoyed. Sometimes we get anxious. Sometimes we’re selfish. Sometimes we judge. If we didn’t do these things we wouldn’t need the Course. We wouldn’t be here.

Being a Course student means never having to pretend like you’re perfect. So long as we think we are bodies and not the perfect Son of God, this is where we start. At the beginning. Knee deep in the mess we believe we have made. There’s no sense in hiding or denying what is in need of healing if we are, in fact, going to heal it. If we are going to eventually re-awaken to our Perfection we’ve gotta put first things first. We’ve gotta get down and dirty. If we don’t, we deny the access Jesus and the Holy Spirit need to help us undo the mistaken sense of guilt we feel over the ‘tiny mad idea’; the thought of separation.

This course is not about acting or pretending or appearing to be anything at all. It’s certainly not about appearing perfectly happy or extra-special-spiritual. Appearances are what we’re seeking to move beyond. This course is all about looking at the content of our mind. It is about true humility, rigorous self-honesty, and spiritual authenticity; looking at the ugliness of our ego with the love of Jesus, so that its unreality is recognized. It’s a hearty roll up your sleeves, git your old pants on, jump in the mud, and take-a-good-look-at-whatcha-really-got-going-on-down-there-in-your-mind kind of course.

We’re feral plumbers with silly grins. Our charge is to squirm around under the sink with a big ol’ wrench – twice as big as we need for the job – and unscrew that old, rusty pipe and take a good look at the sludgy hairball that’s had everything all clogged up for so long. We’re not looking for halfway solutions anymore, – we’re tired of things that don’t work – we get straight to the blood and guts of it. It’s not a path for the faint of heart.

We’re not the country club spiritualists watching the polo match with pretty pink hats and white gloves, while sipping delicate little glasses of sherry. We’re not the suave stars on horseback with fancy leather boots going for pologround glory. No, we’re the working stiffs in the back of the barn with a shovel mucking things out until there’s no mucking left to be done. We’ve got calloused hands, sweat on our brow, and dirt under our fingernails.

Being a Course in Miracles student isn’t about looking spiritual, it’s about being spiritual. And that’s often a dirty job. The Course is an unpretentious, unequivocal, and uncompromising path that puts us right in the thick of it. It ain’t always pretty, looking at our choice for the ego, but we aim to put in an honest day’s work because we finally want to get the job done right.