12.07.08
Projection and Extension
Posted in Musings at 4:25 pm by Linda 
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We are used to the idea that at any moment we are either expressing love or fear. It is also helpful to think in terms of at any moment we are either projecting or allowing ourselves to be vehicles for extension. This brings us back to the central idea that we are Mind and as Mind we are never neutral. As Jesus says there are no idle thoughts.
The laws of Mind dictate that we always look inside first and on the basis of what we have made real for ourselves we will then “see” the world. If I see myself as a separate being in a body, then that is what I will see outside. I will see a world of separate entities, subject to the limits of time and space. The crowning “gift” of that way of seeing is death.
There is only one alternative. To release my ideas and judgements about what anything, including myself is. In creating that space I have allowed for something else to let itself be felt and known. The faculty for extension just is. I do not have to organize for it. As the workbook suggests, simply step back and let Him lead the way. Our “sight” and being has not been limited and curtailed by what we appear to be when we believe we are separate human beings. It only appears to be.
Jesus teaches us that we cannot find ourselves in secret and alone, because the truth of our reality or being is that we are not alone and nothing is secret. He also makes it clear that it is only by extension that what we are will reveal itself. If I limit you in my perception to being a body with a psyche that mysteriously inhabits or is “in” that body, then that is what I have made real for myself. That is the first and fundamental projection and it is an attack, because I have sentenced us both to death. In that moment I am in disagreement with God about what I am. I have implicitly declared that I am more than Mind, more than Spirit.
One can see how eminently practical and all pervasive are the implications of all this for how we live our lives. As we walk down the street, or sit in the bus, or watch TV, what is it that I am seeing. If I am only seeing bodies, then I have allowed my vision to stop at the outside form of nothing. I have blocked my awareness. As miracle workers we are asked to be aware when this has happened and ask Holy Spirit to decide for God for us. In releasing all concepts and ideas about what anything is, the only natural law of the Mind is allowed to flow and function. That is extension. We do not have to concern ourselves with the direction of the extension. We are simply asked not to intrude our own past learning on to what is Now. This is the key to allowing this moment, every moment to be a Holy Instant.
The emphasis upon how we see and interpret each other and situations is absolutely central to the way of life the Course is teaching. According to its way, we are here absolutely and fundamentally for each other because we are One. We Are each other. While perception lasts, we are called upon to use it truly. The only true way to use perception is to allow Truth or the Holy Spirit to use it. Spirit is always looking beyond the form because Truth lies beyond the form.
In my own experience I have been exposed to many spiritualities that emphasize inwardness. I still have a habit of feeling the necessity of going off and being alone. For this reason, I find it helpful to be reminded that while the Course does encourage us to find quiet time to be with God, this should not be seen as something qualitatively different from how I view any aspect of Creation. Stillness and quietness are of God and Truth and God and Truth are everywhere.
We serve the plan of the Atonement when we see the Christ in any aspect of Creation and when we remember that behind appearances all things are working together for the good. Only God can give that Answer. It is the only answer there is.