Where God Is, There Are You.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

While reading A Course in Miracles, has it ever struck you how many wonderful, powerful one-liners there are in the Course? Have you ever said something like this to yourself, "Boy, if I could just realize the truth contained in this one sentence, I'd realize everything." So have I. So in this and future commentaries, I'd like to share some of my favorites and how I understand them.

In this commentary, let's work with the following lines:

"Where God is, there are you." T-14.VIII.4.4
and,
"For what you are is what He is...and what He is, is everything there is." W-127.4.3-4

First, let's note what, "Where God is, there are you" is not saying. It isn't telling us, "Where you are, God is." While this statement is true, it could also be understood to mean that God can be where you are not.

In other words, if you believe you are in Sacramento, California, it would be true to say, "where I am, God is. God is with me where I believe I am, here, in Sacramento." But from that statement, it does not follow that I am also in New York City at the same time. God may be in New York as well as Sacramento at the same time, but I'm not; I'm here, in Sacramento. This is not the meaning of the statement in the Course. Like so many lines in the Course, this sentence is carefully crafted to convey a specific meaning; a meaning not open to misinterpretation when read and understood exactly as it's stated.

"Where God is, there are you" is a statement so simple and direct, it can hardly be misunderstood with a little contemplation. And if we had a full realization of the meaning contained in this one sentence, we'd know everything there is to know.

In the Text it says, "Truth can only be known. All of it is equally true, and knowing any part of it is to know all of it." T-3.V.8.3-4

So, we're told, "Where God is, there are you." Where is God? God is a timeless, formless, spaceless state of being. Eternity is not "˜all time.' It is timeless. God exists as a timeless "˜Now.' And God exists as a limitless "˜Here.' Infinity is not all "˜space.' Infinity is without space, or spaceless. "Where God is, there are you." So, where are you? Where God is. And where is God? Now you know where you are. You are where God is, one with Him as a timeless spaceless being of love. God is not where you are; you are where God is. That's the meaning the Course conveys. The way the Course states it, it can't be understood that God can be somewhere I'm not. It's very direct in saying to us, "Where God is, there are you."

Now let's add the other line to what we just discussed. "For what you are is what He is"¦and what He is, is everything there is." W-127.4.3-4

Most of us are familiar with this equation:

If A=B
And B=C
Then A=C.

Applying this same logic to the statement from the Workbook, we have this:

If "what you are" = "what He is"
And "what He is" = "everything there is."
Then "what you are" = "everything there is."

It should be obvious how this complements and reinforces the idea behind, "What God is, there are you."

But this statement from the Workbook doesn't stop there. The second part of the statement takes us even deeper into the meaning the Course tries to convey to our minds. What does the last phrase tell us? It says, ""¦and what He is, is everything there is." This phrase specifically defines what we are; it clarifies the meaning in the first phrase.

Again, let's note what this phrase is not saying. It's not saying, "God is everything there is." Reading the statement with that meaning in mind could take us far astray from the metaphysics of the Course. Why? Because if I'm thinking God is everything there is, I could look out at the universe of time, space and form and think God is everything I see.

But the Course tells us there is no world. That exact phrase, "there is no world" is used seven times throughout the Course. It's stated most emphatically in Lesson 132 of the Workbook, "There is no world!" (W-132.6.2). So how could God be everything I see if the universe I see doesn't exist?

So to think the Course is telling us that God is everything there is, then look out at the physical universe and think God is everything I see would really be off track. So let's look carefully at the phrase we have under scrutiny, "and what He is, is everything there is." There's a very important definition in that phrase that can be overlooked.

God isn't everything there is. No; that's too misleading a way to phrase it. Let me add italics to emphasize what the Course is saying. ""¦and what He is, is everything there is." Got it? To paraphrase, "What God [He] is, is everything there is." We could put it this way, "There's nothing but God, and what God is not doesn't exist."

Just in case it still isn't clear, in this phrase, the Course says, "is everything there is" only after first saying, "What He is." So the Course is defining "everything there is" as being "What He [God] is." This eliminates are including what God is not. What He [God] is, that's all that there is. Only God exists. And what God is, well, that's everything there is. There isn't anything but God in reality. Anything that falls outside God's definition of Himself simply can't and does not exist. God is not everything there is. That's open to misinterpretation of the Course. What God is, is everything there is.

To finish, I'm reminded of what I wrote after having a momentary transcendent experience. I quote from my book, Target Joy.

God is the Light out of which God creates more God.

God has nothing but God with which to create things.

God is the only material available.

Since God is the only material with which God can create,

Then God can only create more of God.

There is nothing more or less than God.

There is nothing other than God.

So when God creates, God creates God, and only God.

God can only create God because God is all there is.

God cannot create something that is not God.

What could God make non-God out of, non-God?

God is not non-God, nothing is.

So God creates only God.

God loves God because God is Love.

God is Light, the Light of Love.

God is Light without a switch.

God's on and stays on all the time.

God's turned on.

God cannot be turned off.

There's nothing I can do to turn God off;

I can only hide from the Presence of the loving Light of God.

I believed I could do something to turn God off to me.

Now I know I can't.

I can turn myself off to God, by what I make of God,

But I can't turn God off to Me.

God's too turned on by Love to turn God off to God.

I can turn off the image I make of God and let God be God;

And maybe if I did I could let Me be Me.

Though I can turn off the image I make of God,

I can't turn off the image God has of Me, thank God....

God never ceases to be God.

God is not my codependent.

God doesn't depend on me to be God.

I depend on God to be Me.

Who would I be if it weren't for God?

Not God?

But God is all there is,

So I can't be not-God.

Maybe I should let God teach me what I am

Instead of my trying to teach God what God is.

Only God can teach me what God is.

No one can stand between me and God and teach me God.

A teacher can teach me about God,

But cannot teach me God.

Teachers can point me to God, or,

They can miss the point, pointing me away.

To point me to God, they have to know God.

It is to God I must go to be truly taught.

God teaches me God by allowing me to discover God.

To find God I have to seek God.

If I seek God I will find God because God wants me to find God.

Though God wants me to find God,

God can neither make me find God,

Nor make me want to find God.

I have to want to find God on my own.

I have to find God because I want to find God.

I have to find God because I want to find God.

God wants what is best for me,

But what I want may not be best for me.

God is best for me.

To find God I must seek only God.

If I don't find God it's because I don't seek God for God.

What I find depends on what I want.

When I find God, I know God.

When I know God, I know I am God.

If I seek anything but God, I will find not-God.

I can't find not-God for not-God is not. . .

Not-God is not. . .

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