I think a big factor in the popularity of A Course In Miracles is that it is based on irrefutable logic. There doesn't appear to be any areas that simply instruct a person to rely on blind faith. That was one of my many irritations with the Catholic way of teaching - when in a tricky spot, either rely on faith or you're sinning! Although I have to admit that is a genius strategy to observe compliance.
Today's lesson shows how strong the Course's logical arguments can be. You can read the entire lesson here, I wanted to give a quick excerpt to show the iron-clad logic:
This idea obviously follows from the two preceding ones. But while you may be able to accept it intellectually, it is unlikely that it will mean anything to you as yet. However, understanding is not necessary at this point. In fact, the recognition that you do not understand is a prerequisite for undoing your false ideas. These exercises are concerned with practice, not with understanding. You do not need to practice what you already understand. It would indeed be circular to aim at understanding, and assume that you have it already.
How can you argue with that? I can't anyways. I was instructed to look about the room and say"I do not see that [whatever I am looking at] as it is now". I performed the exercise and found nothing disturbing about it.
The lesson coincided with thoughts I keep having about our reality that are giving me a sense of unease. As best I can understand what I am reading scientifically...when I see something in my range of vision, it is actually my brain interpreting bits of energetic information and projecting it into a screen in my head. So I am looking at my computer monitor right now it appears. But really I am just looking at light beams that are taken by the rods and cones of my retinas in my eyeballs, that then get bounced around and put up in a screen somewhere in the back of my brain so that I see the screen inside my head (Use google for "how vision works", or just click on this link to see what I mean). Which means the monitor shows up 2 feet in front of my face, but I'm viewing the back of my brain to "see" something 2 feet in front of me?
Typing this is making my forehead feel a cold ice needle sensation. I have no idea how reality actually works. If people are spending all day actually viewing the backs of their brains...my head hurts. I guess the exercise was disturbing to me after all.
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