Post by Rogier van Vlissingen on Apr 9, 2007 20:30:57 GMT -5
P/GoTh:
quote
A person said to him, "Tell my brothers to divide my father's possessions with me." He said to the person "Brother, who made me a divider?" He turned to his disciples and said to them, "I'm not a divider, am I?"
unquote
Form:
The one salient change here is from "Mister" which sounds kind of denigrating, to "brother," which sounds more true to form.
Content:
The statement is a perfect parallel to the Course's teachings that the ego's way of giving is a win/lose proposition, whereas the Holy Spirit's way of giving (of love) is always win/win.
The following passage demonstrates the point, and there are many others:
quote
6 The higher mind thinks according to the laws spirit obeys, and therefore honors only the laws of God. 7 To spirit getting is meaningless and giving is all. 8 Having everything, spirit holds everything by giving it, and thus creates as the Father created. 9 While this kind of thinking is totally alien to having things, even to the lower mind it is quite comprehensible in connection with ideas. 10 If you share a physical possession, you do divide its ownership. 11 If you share an idea, however, you do not lessen it. 12 All of it is still yours although all of it has been given away. 13 Further, if the one to whom you give it accepts it as his, he reinforces it in your mind and thus increases it. 14 If you can accept the concept that the world is one of ideas, the whole belief in the false association the ego makes between giving and losing is gone.
T-5.I.2. Let us start our process of reawakening with just a few simple concepts:
2 Thoughts increase by being given away.
3 The more who believe in them the stronger they become.
4 Everything is an idea.
5 How, then, can giving and losing be associated?
unquote (ACIM:T-5.I.1:6-2:5)
Finally we may note that there is also another allusion to wholeness in this statement.
quote
A person said to him, "Tell my brothers to divide my father's possessions with me." He said to the person "Brother, who made me a divider?" He turned to his disciples and said to them, "I'm not a divider, am I?"
unquote
Form:
The one salient change here is from "Mister" which sounds kind of denigrating, to "brother," which sounds more true to form.
Content:
The statement is a perfect parallel to the Course's teachings that the ego's way of giving is a win/lose proposition, whereas the Holy Spirit's way of giving (of love) is always win/win.
The following passage demonstrates the point, and there are many others:
quote
6 The higher mind thinks according to the laws spirit obeys, and therefore honors only the laws of God. 7 To spirit getting is meaningless and giving is all. 8 Having everything, spirit holds everything by giving it, and thus creates as the Father created. 9 While this kind of thinking is totally alien to having things, even to the lower mind it is quite comprehensible in connection with ideas. 10 If you share a physical possession, you do divide its ownership. 11 If you share an idea, however, you do not lessen it. 12 All of it is still yours although all of it has been given away. 13 Further, if the one to whom you give it accepts it as his, he reinforces it in your mind and thus increases it. 14 If you can accept the concept that the world is one of ideas, the whole belief in the false association the ego makes between giving and losing is gone.
T-5.I.2. Let us start our process of reawakening with just a few simple concepts:
2 Thoughts increase by being given away.
3 The more who believe in them the stronger they become.
4 Everything is an idea.
5 How, then, can giving and losing be associated?
unquote (ACIM:T-5.I.1:6-2:5)
Finally we may note that there is also another allusion to wholeness in this statement.