This week the Mindshifters group watched the first part of the lecture by Dr. Michael Ryce titled, An Introduction To A Course In Miracles – With Advanced Understanding. Dr. Ryce uses the analogy of a person who lives in a two dimensional world, trying to experience and understand a three dimensional basketball. He tries to help the audience imagine the difficulty of getting someone from a two dimensional world to understand something they have never experienced before and something that goes against every experience they have ever had, as well as all of the known history of their family and their culture. He makes the point that if one has limited perception, it will dramatically limit their ability to comprehend something or someone.
In a world where there is only length and width it is not possible to describe height, or thickness. In a world where no one has ever experienced a three dimensional object, there are no words for describing a three dimensional object. If I am only able to see things in two dimensions that does not mean that the third dimension does not exist. Just as my limited vision does not mean that ultra violet light and infra red light do not exist. Just because I cannot hear a dog whistle does not mean that it does not make a sound. In the same way that the limitation of my sense organs filter out much of the light and sound around me and limit my ability to perceive the world, my limited ability to perceive the true nature of people does not mean that they are limited to my label or judgment of them.
One of the keys points of the lecture is that when I judge someone, or look at them and see only a body, it does not change their nature. It simply keeps me from seeing them as they truly are.
If I want to have any hope of perceiving my world accurately I have to begin by accepting the possibility that what I have already seen, or judged, may be wrong. If I am not willing to accept that there may be more to a person than what I have previously thought, I will not be open to new information and I will not be able to change my belief. The first step toward learning anything is the acceptance that there is something I do not know or understand. A mind that “knows” is not able to learn. A mind that is questioning is the only mind that is able to learn.
If I look at someone and believe that I see a body, and I believe that I know who that person is, I have, in that moment, judged them and done them and myself a serious injustice. I have chosen to believe they are only a body, and only a person, and that they are not an infinite energy system made of Love. I have, in that moment, chosen to disregard the miracle of life, and the many miracles of growth and healing that the physical part of their energy system carries out on a daily basis.
This lecture challenges us to question our perception of the entire world, but perhaps most importantly to question our perception of people, and open to the possibility that each person we see is an expression of the infinite energy we call Love, and God.
We come from Love, we are made of Love, we are Love. Everything else is false.