At our A Course in Miracles group this morning, we
were sharing about what it means to join.
Specifically, we referred to what the Course calls “the little
willingness,” that moment of choice when we turn to face our aversion, our resistance,
our judgment of others or ourselves, and we simply stop: stop spinning the
stories, the attack thoughts, the perseverating, and just witness. The Course refers to this as the moment of
forgiveness, when we shift from fear to love, from running away to staying
present. We all acknowledged that while
we can practice “the little willingness” to turn towards the truth, we can't
predict when we might actually experience the shift from misperception to
truth, or in Course language, the ego's undoing, or “awakening”: that part is
not up to us.
One group member,
R., told a story about an early running experience he had; he entered a bliss
state that was so profound, he continued running for four hours non-stop. He
explained that he has often sought to recapture the experience but it is
elusive, his point being that we don't control our healing process, certainly
not by trying to heal. We can only
practice “the little willingness,” that is, showing up as a witness in the
place we perceive as scary or challenging and waiting there for Spirit to
transform our awareness.
Laughing, R.
added (I am paraphrasing): “whole
religions are built on misunderstanding this process ---- if someone happened
to be combing his or her hair when he/she experienced a moment of
“enlightenment,” then in an effort to recapture the experience, followers of
this “enlightened one” might build up elaborate practices around the perfect
hairdo needed for enlightenment.”
After the
gathering, the subject of the Holy Hairdo, which Christine and I began to call
it, came irresistibly into our joint awareness, not without a lot of
giggling: we were flooded with a myriad
of possible rituals, how-to-manuals, codes of conduct, and learned texts on the
subject of the perfect holy “do.”
It occurred to us
that not only would it be critically important to comb and arrange one's hair
perfectly in accordance with the enlightened one's coif, it would also be
important to have the right tools for the task.
The right comb, and brush, the right hair gels, waxes, and/or hairspray
to hold the hairdo in place would be essential.
Of course, there would be rituals also for the correct washing,
conditioning, and drying of the hair, not to mention highly recommended scalp
massage protocols. Inevitably there
would be desirable times of day for the rituals of haircare to be performed,
with regulations that it be done in private, or only in the company of men or
women.
Many practices
might grow up around the issue of hair loss, notably the pros and cons of
combing-over. Some particularly blessed
individuals, despite balding, who have extremely luxuriant hair growth on their
upper backs, might, with the use of sanctified hair waxes, manage to grow their
back hair up and over the crowns of their heads. This would surely be viewed as the most
revered of holy comb-overs.
Then, with the
passage of centuries, various sects would develop among followers, as confusion
inevitably crept in over what the enlightened one's “do” originally,
authentically, looked like (no photography existing at the time of the original
combing, and anyway, photographs can be faked).
Debates among rival viewpoints would fracture the body of knowledge and
practice surrounding enlightenment hair care.
Possibly the most divisive ideological point would turn on the issue of
hair pieces and hair transplants. One
sect might be quite inclusive making a place for those deemed to be less
desirable, dare we say, hairless, while the other main sect would remain
committed to purity. Only those working with their own, god-given hair would
qualify to be saved and hence be admitted to heaven.
Finally, of
course, there would be a whole array of sacred relics: the holy comb used by
the enlightened one, his (probably his not her) brush, his washing basin, his
drying towels. There would also be
actual clumps of his hair to be venerated, even holy dandruff to be housed in
special vials, which would allow the devoted ready viewing of the treasure, but
secure it from vandals and pagans. There would also be pilgrimages made to the
sites where these holy relics reside.
Needless to say,
despite conscientious application of all these practices, followers of the
“enlightened one” would continue to find enlightenment mysteriously
elusive. Meanwhile, a whole religion is
born.
…..... Or, there
is that other choice: to stop and remember to smile and perhaps occasionally
belly-laugh at the ego mind and all its confections.
Annie and
Christine