Escaping The World We See

I thought about whether I’d share a personal anecdote in this week’s post but the truth is we don’t have to look very far to see the horror of a world we’d like to escape. This week marks the 212th mass shooting of 2022 at a school in Texas.

This year has been a parade of mass shootings, human rights violations, women’s rights violations, LGBT rights violations, climate crises and environmental violations, and the list goes on and on. Every week there is a new cause to fear for the fate of the world. And while anger and rage can be useful in driving change and action, living in a constant state of either is damaging. Both on the level of our individual well-being and the world we are creating.

So today I’ll share reflections on lesson 23 from A Course In Miracles:

I can escape the world I see by giving up attack thoughts Click To Tweet

We see this world as a vengeful one when we identify with attack thoughts. We’ve all had moments where we’ve been or felt attacked, whether it be in a greater or lesser form. From being disrespected, our boundaries violated, or being humiliated or embarrassed. Mentally we keep score, we decide who’s good, and who’s bad. Who’s worthy of our love, and who isn’t.

We show up on the offence, ready to deflect the next strike or attack. Ready for vengeance.

When we hold onto attack thoughts, be it thoughts of attacking or being attached, we bind ourselves to them. And on the level of cause and effect, to a world of pain and suffering.

When we hold onto attack thoughts, we withhold love and deflect a miracle. Click To Tweet

Our attack thoughts anchor us to a world created by fear. The mortal hallucination, a construct of the Ego as the Course calls it. A world created by a thought system based on fear and separation, where we attack and condemn each other. But because there is no place where you end and I begin – because on the level of consciousness we are all connected and we are all one – when we attack and condemn each other, we attack and condemn ourselves. When we withhold love from each other, we withhold love from ourselves. Further expanding the loveless world we live in.

That’s not to say that none of this is real. The material world, its horrors, and its effects are very much real. To attempt to deny that through a veil of fake positivity is of service to no one. Our hearts break as we mourn the lives lost and grieve with those who are in pain. However, we can escape the effects of a vengeful world by giving love freely instead of withholding it. Instead of judging who is worthy of it. Instead of choosing attack thoughts or binding ourselves to thoughts of being attacked.

We can hold people and systems accountable while coming together in love as opposed to attack. Because connection under the guise of a common enemy isn’t truly connection. It’s identifying with our anger and fear, giving power to it, and creating a world that reflects our internal landscape.

We see the world we have created but rarely see ourselves as the maker of it. Click To Tweet

When we withhold love from any situation, we create a loveless world. When we judge who is worthy of love and who isn’t, we deflect a miracle and withhold love from ourselves. When we attack or hold onto thoughts of being attacked, we can’t see the innocence in others, we see only guilt.

There are a lot of loveless acts going on in the world right now. And the people and systems responsible must be held accountable. But when we give up attack thoughts we liberate ourselves from the world we see, a world of pain and suffering. A world where we show up in loveless ways, creating more acts of lovelessness.

When we choose love instead, we light up the images we see. We create room for miracles. We drive change through acts of love and kindness.

I can escape the world I see by giving up attack thoughts.

What attack thoughts can you give up today? Start small as you build that muscle.

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