Is the intellect friend or foe?
The intellect is a marvelous tool that mankind has used to make great strides in the world. Through the development of language and the written word we have been able to create a historical knowledge base that spans thousands of years. With the invention of the printing press our civilization has taken giant leaps forward in the past few hundred years. Today we are in the midst of the electronic age and we marvel at the wonders created through the micro chip. On a daily basis we utilize and even take for granted our modern utilities such as electricity, heating and air conditioning, and hot and cold running water. Each of these utilities is in itself a miracle of modern engineering. Together they are the foundation, the basic building blocks of civilization as we know it today. Our cities would not exist without the infrastructure that was created by the genius of our predecessors.
The reason I am able to live in a comfortable environment and spend time writing on my computer is because of the foresight and genius of others who used their intellectual capacities to their fullest extent for the benefit of mankind. Therefore one cannot deny that the intellect has been a powerful force for progress in the world.
It is important to note that it is the intellect through which we “study” A Course in Miracles. It is also important to note that the purpose of A Course in Miracles is to enable the student to go beyond the intellect, beyond the thinking reasoning mind, beyond the world of opposites, towards stillness and oneness. So is the intellect friend or foe to the student of A Course in Miracles?
On page 369 (old book) The Course states:
“This course will lead to knowledge, but knowledge itself is still beyond the scope of our curriculum. Nor is there any need for us to try to speak of what must forever lie beyond words. Where learning ends, there God begins”.
This statement makes clear the limits of the intellect and the reasoning mind. However in the next few lines the course states:
“It is not for us to dwell on what cannot be attained. There is too much to learn. The readiness for knowledge still must be attained”.
Here the course clearly states that learning (through the intellect) readies us for the acceptance of knowledge. I point out these two lines which seem to be contradictory to exemplify the fact that the course teaches on two levels. The following definitions however intellectual are meant to aid the student in clarifying the direction and purpose of the course and to help in understanding its daily application.
When studying metaphysical concepts as those portrayed in A Course in Miracles, it is helpful to be able to distinguish the difference between the two major levels of concepts it portrays, and the reasons for them.
It is through the thinking reasoning mind of the student that the course channels its knowledge, at least initially. The intellect, the reasoning mind, perceives everything dualistically. The course therefore teaches in a dualistic fashion… on two major levels. The Course in Miracles contains both
absolute truths… (Passages that define the laws of God, the nature of God and man as a reflection of Gods image), and…
relative truths (passages that point out the nature of the ego, the nature of error, our misperceptions and miscreations).
Webster’s definition of absolute is “free from imperfection-perfect”. Webster’s definition of relative is “not absolute or independent: comparative”. A Course in Miracles uses the absolute truth for one purpose and the relative truth for a different purpose. Understanding the difference between the two can aid the student in finding a clear direction while studying the course. This is also an important step in understanding the motives of the course.
A declaration of an absolute truth is “I am as God created me”. This statement as explained in A Course in Miracles implies man in God’s image. Man as a reflection of God… perfect, whole, complete, eternal. This absolute truth would be considered the highest concept, an unimpeachable concept, an unchangeable idea, or a law of God. From the course perspective, the nature of man as a perfect idea of God is absolute, unchangeable, and without opposition or opposite.
A relative truth is not absolute and therefore is not a law of God. An example of a relative statement from the course is “My meaningless thoughts are showing me a meaningless world”. This statement shows man as he perceives himself to be, apart and separate from God, miscreating and misperceiving.
The relative truth is not an absolute truth because it does not reflect the attributes of God or man in God’s image.
The relative truth is a tool through which our misperceptions can be brought to the light and be dispelled; once dispelled forgotten!
The course uses the relative truth to uncover error. It is a means through which the student can discover what he or she… is not.
The course uses it to highlight man’s perception or unreality. A relative truth can help the student break through the fog of misperception into the light, to take the blinders off so to speak.
But make no mistake, the relative truth it is not the light!
The relative truth is the opposite of absolute truth.
A truth student who takes a fundamentalist approach to the course and confuses the relative with the absolute can get “lost in the woods” because of that confusion. This fundamentalist point of view is the opposite of the goal of the course. Confusing a relative statement such as (my meaningless thoughts are showing me a meaningless world) as an absolute truth can cause the student to fixate on what in truth is unreal. One can use the course to perpetuate guilt, to focus on human flaws, and prevent him or her from achieving that which is possible now, oneness, peace! If you spend all your time dredging through the infinite well of human flaws and misperceptions (which on an intellectual level has merit) your preoccupation can prevent you from experiencing your innate wholeness and goodness, now! The truth student should remember that God does not condemn. God is love. As we focus on accepting God’s love our dirty laundry gets washed in the process. The light must be shining in order for a shadow to appear. One of the tools the course gives us for dealing with the shadows is forgiveness:
"Forgiveness is still and quietly does nothing. It offends no aspect of reality, nor seeks to twist it to appearances it likes. It merely looks and waits and judges not. He who would not forgive must judge, for he must justify his failure to forgive. But he who would forgive himself must learn to welcome truth exactly as it is."
The course is about walking toward the light, because the light is our true nature. The question is, do we walk towards the light or into the shadows? Do we walk towards the absolute truth… "I am as God created me” or into the relative condition “my meaningless thoughts are showing me a meaningless world”? The absolute truth is the direction of the course. The absolute truth is the motive behind the course.
Balance is always a good idea. Confused fundamentalism is not.
After one understands the difference between absolute and relative truths there is still the problem of applying truth to our daily lives. We must take our understanding a step further in order to apply such lofty and radical concepts as absolute truths. Here once again understanding “levels” is important.
In a hypothetical scenario a new student of “The Course” who needs help understanding the concepts reaches out to another student for answers, who can quote the passages quite readily and with ease. The new student declares “I have a problem with the people at work”. An advanced student of metaphysics rattles off instantaneously … “In truth there is no problem! Can’t you see that? It is your ego that is getting in the way of the truth! You need to perceive things differently” The new student stands dazed and in amazement says … “I don’t understand? How can you say I have no problem? If you were standing in my shoes you might see it differently? My problem is real to me!” The new truth student needs answers that he or she can understand and apply directly to the so called problem. The advanced student has a vast knowledge base of absolute truths that are repeatable but not applicable. And so goes the battle between a concept of absolute truth and the every day problems one faces in life. Both students are right, depending on the vantage point one wishes to take. But neither viewpoint will help to solve the problem.
The advanced student’s reply “In truth there is no problem” is an absolute truth. The new student’s belief that he or she has a problem is a relative condition. The question is how can the advanced student apply the absolute truth to the relative problem?
The application of Truth is not intellectual. Rattling off a phrase however lofty does not heal. A recitation of a truth is just that, a recitation. So how do we apply the truth to our day to day existence? We can in the same manner as the course teaches, work on different levels.
We pray in the absolute, and we think and act in the relative. I’ll say that again…we pray in the absolute and we think and act in the relative. We can use the intellect, and a concept of the absolute truth to “ready” ourselves for knowledge. Our intellectual understanding of absolute truth is a conduit that we can utilize to go within, into our “heart of hearts” and once there, surrender to the will of God, and experience God! Once we surrender, the answers to our relative problems will rise from within. It is in the stillness that the voice for God counsels. It is in the “peace that passeth understanding” that the healing takes place. The application of truth is an inside out process not the reverse. Once we’ve prayed in the absolute we then act in the relative. We then take the necessary relative steps to change our circumstances. The recitation of truth sometimes helps, but inner surrender, the silence and the calling forth for love … moves mountains!
The musician studies technique in order to develop a foundation as stepping stone to greater creative freedom. In a musical performance the technique is a vehicle through which the music is communicated but it is not the music. The musician must go beyond technique and the intellectual basis of music theory in order to communicate music. Technique is used only as a means to an end it is not the end result. The course is to truth as technique is to music. I’ve heard it said that “the silence between the notes is the essence of music”. So it is with A Course in Miracles. The end is stillness, no thought.
Like technique is to the musician, the concepts in the Course when practiced help us to open our hearts to a loving God. When there is a call for love as in previous example there is only one thing to do; to go inside, to go beyond the intellect, into the stillness, the oneness, and heal! A miracle is the extension of love. A Course in Miracles is a psychological and spiritual practice through which we can recognize and experience our innate oneness with our creator and all living beings.
I’ve explained these concepts that were once explained to me through this marvelous thing called the intellect, and as I said before the intellect and the relative truth can only bring us so far in the study of truth. So is the intellect friend or foe? It depends on the level from which you perceive. The intellect is perhaps a friend that we need, and… need to be away from on a frequent basis.
Rob Oliver