Epigrams

An epigram is a brief, clever, and usually memorable statement. Derived from the Greek: "epi-gramma" meaning to write on or inscribe, the literary device has been employed for over two millennia.

Example: — "May the mind that was in Jesus of Nazareth also be in you. Or, do you expect better than that?"

1. With some, what passes for enlightenment is just being slightly less full of shit.
2. Whatever it was that caused you pain in the past, it wasn't love.
3. Totality is everything. No joke.
4. Some things get hidden so deep, you forget they are there at all.
5. For those to whom eternal life has been given, death is not an option. Easter Sunday 2010
6. Test the many voices. But, remember the voices of deceit will not suddenly speak the truth just because you ask nicely.
7. "The fear of loss is a path to the dark side." Yoda, Star Wars III
8. Everyone occupies the Bell curve in all positions, somehow or another.
9. Use of the word 'singularity' in spiritual discourse creeps me out.
10. It is impossible to cure indoctrination by means of different indoctrination. Indoctrination itself is the problem.
11. "You are not wrong brother, you are just mistaken." - an ACIM student
12. Some of my best ideas come from the sublime state of disgruntlement.
13. It is better to plant one marigold than it is to curse the landscape.
14. I'm thinking that chocolate pudding with strawberries on top is part of the universe of ideas that God created, and therefore real.
15. I finally understand. The dark side of detachment is narcissism.
16. The prayers, "Dear God please rip the darkness from my heart," is a theoretical metaphysical impossibility. God don't know nothing about no darkness.
17. Tell you about it? Words cannot be transcended by means of more words. You need experiences and insights. The more the better to connect the fracking dots.
    
18. Can't talk a way out of projection and perception. Can't even buy your way out.
19. OK. But if I see that your hair is on fire, I promise not to dump the bucket of water on my head.
20. How do you learn what you don't know by clinging to what you do know?
21. So, ya think Helen got all the words exactly right? I doubt it.
22. King of the world. Then hit an iceberg and drown. So it goes. Only the love remains.
23. Enlightenment: Once is not enough.
24. There is no act too small to make a difference.
25. With many, the ego is smarter and more determined than you. Learning involves change, not rigidity.
26. To those without eyes and ears, everything is a surprise.
27. If you don't trust my intentions, you won't trust my words either, so why bother?
28. You expect me to correct your thinking? Start with that idea. It's a mistake.
29. It takes a special type of holy fool to pet a growling dog.
30. The Holy spirit cannot speak English.
31. A Course in Miracles in not philosophy or metaphysics, it is psychology.
32. "Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." Antoine de Saint Exupery
33. Simple logic: If complexity is of the ego, then a complex metaphysics must be of the ego.
34. The state of "normal" (as in "miracles are normal") involves the habitual unconscious expression of love. "By this shall all men know that you are my followers, if you have love one to another" (John 13:35 ), bypasses all professions of faith.
35. It is impossible to be a friend to Jesus with a knife clenched in your teeth.
36. Miracles are normal. Don't think about what is on the other side of miracles until you at least reach the state of . . . normal.
37. What you call miracles are simply laws you do not understand
38. Everyone goes through infancy, including spiritual infancy. A reasonable goal is to grow out of it.
39. The only part of me that is uncertain of my own existence is the part of me that does not exist. Being a thought of God is a happy thought.
40. Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens. ~ Carl Jung
41. The degree of ideological passion may be directly related to the degree of willful ignorance and fear.
42. "Better late than never" is meaningless to eternity. Now is a good time.
43. Responsibility without authority equals guilt.
44. This singularity ain't big enough for the both of us.
45. Mad cow disease explains everything.
46. Any day that doesn't involve human sacrifice is a good day.
47. Before someone can change, they have to learn, and before they learn, they have to cease being scared. - Seth Godin
48. I'm wondering if boredom is an unloving thought. Have a clue?
49. Anyone who has had the birth of Christ within knows exactly what the virgin birth is all about. Adyashanti
50. You know, like a one-eyed man watching a 3-D movie.
51. One concept notably lacking from ACIM is the idea of a food chain. "Eat me?" is not part of the picture.
52. Question: When is the best time to plant a tree? Answer: 20 years ago.
53. Being of "one mind" begins at home.
54. You long for something different and call it a search for God. Isn't this what got you into trouble in the first place?
55. The vow, "I won't be fooled again!" is the first step to being fooled again.
56. Locating God is easy. Shutting up long enough to hear what she has to say is the hard part.
57. If you focus on spirit long enough, you will see things you've never seen before.
58. Mayan greeting E'en Lakesh which translates I am another yourself. We are one.
59. A Course is Miracles is just like Christianity, except without all the b.s.
60. Sometimes the very young do not do as they are told.
61. You have the information, now is the time for transformation.
62. Test everything. Hold on to the good. 1 Thessalonians 5:21
63. If I drop a rock on my foot and it hurts like hell, is that the result of fear?
64. Forgiveness alone brings confidence, comfort, and joy, and bids fear and despondency flee away.
65. Many wish to "get it" for the sole purpose of "being done with it."
66. If you could just rotate fast enough, you might get a psychic vortex going.
67. As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being. — Carl Jung
68. They ain't nothin' woofin' but the peas in the pot, and they only woofin' cause the water be hot!
69. The instructions for getting out of the box are printed on the outside of the box.
70. The only way to know the truth is to make yourself fit to receive it.
71. Yet if you do not accept the necessary conditions for knowing Him you have denied Him. — ACIM
72. "If you follow the Bab around like a dog, do not be surprised that the Bab treats you like a dog." — Sayings of the Bab
73. Hubris - trying to beat God at her own game.
74. Shut up and put your money where your mouth is. That's what you get for waking up in Vegas - Kate Perry
75. Save me from the nothing I've become. - Evanescence
76. "Life's most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?" - Martin Luther King, Jr.
77. Complex metaphysics my ass.
78. I say again: Appearing and disappearing relate only to perception.
79. It's impossible to know for sure something that isn't real.
80. The English word 'fox' has the same meaning as 'renard,' except it's not as froggy.
81. Crucifixion is quicker and easier than death by paper cuts.
82. Perception ends where knowledge begins.
83. Sure, Jesus promised that awakening is better than sex. But, is it better than fantasy sex?
84. “When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free.” — Catherine Ponder
85. Switching from believing to not believing doesn't actually change anything.
86. Salvation is not theoretical. — ACIM Manual for Teachers
87. The Course is a fertile source for daydreamers everywhere to imagine about.
88. My dreams are full of meaning, but not necessarily a lot of understanding.
89. It is not the function of God's teachers to evaluate the outcome of their gifts. It is merely their function to give them. — ACIM
90. Don't focus on reducing the pain that you experience yourself, focus on reducing the pain that you cause others.
91. Love or die. That's a choice, right?
92. New shorthand notation: CAIRI - meaning the Course as I Read It.
93. I haven't worn all the tread off my set of egos, but they are losing traction and are starting to slip. Somewhat. Now and then.
94. Like a snake that sheds its skin, I grow a new one.
95. All illusions are equally false. They are not, however, equally useless.
96. Joining with another mind is fearful because it means the end of secrets and lies.
97. Priest: Someone paid to be kind and forgiving. It hasn't always worked out that way.
98. Catholicism: Failed attempt to impose a universal theology.
99. 99 out of 100 voices in your head are lying.
100. Life is just like lucid dreaming, minus the lucidity.
101. Blowing smoke can be done figuratively or literally. I prefer to do it literally.
102. Abandon all blame, ye who enter here.
103. What if . . . on the other side of that brick wall . . . it's Toontown?
104. One reason for level confusion is that the Big Lie is different on every level.
105. Turn the beat around. Rhythm carries all the action. Turn it upside down. Love to hear it.
106. Mantra: Yes, that too is within me, and I within it.
107. Is that singular, plural, or both, with the "you"? This is English, not some sensible language.
108. Is anyone planning to unlearn how to tie a shoelace?
109. A big problem with 'God the Father' is that many earthly fathers are assholes. 'God the Mother' is not always an improvement.
110. I am under no obligation to accept your limitations.
111. It is impossible to be in communication with and through spirit by means of deception.
112. The way Jesus saw is good enough for me, and I've got the instruction manual.
113. When they say "Know thyself," which self do they mean?
114. The way of spirit is to keep the love and forget the rest, if I recall correctly.
115. A distinction without any difference is not a distinction. It is arbitrary and meaningless.
116. Truthiness is a "truth" that a person claims to know intuitively without regard to evidence, logic, intellectual examination, or facts.
117. Conversation stopper no. 1: This is obviously true!
118. There are some problems in this world which either get solved quickly
     or not at all.

Also posted on Miracle Course Journal

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Tom Fox
Louisville, Kentucky

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The Pace of Learning

Stimulus: My partner thinks I am not learning and changing fast enough and moving fast enough along the path or working hard enough, and has given an ultimatum.

Response:

I think your partner has adopted a bad strategy, having made the classic mistake of thinking finite-self-image-called-me understands the fundamental nature of time, what it means, who is driving the bus, and what the bus route ought to look like. There is the improbable tale from the seed-time about a work gang. A bunch started at the crack of dawn and the Bab said she would pay them each $250 bucks US for a full day of hard work.

That was a very good deal, and they took it.

After lunch a new gang of workers showed up on the job and pitched in.

Then about an hour before quitting time, another group of workers arrived.

Then the day was done and the Bab got out her purse to pay the workers. She gave each person there the same amount of cash. $250.

The ones who had been on the job since the crack of dawn looked around and saw what happened and said, "Bugger! This ain't right!" with some emotion. "Them guys that only worked for half a day and those who worked for just an hour get paid the same as us? That's not fair."

The Bab, of course, had been through this before and had her answer quick. "You thought it was a good deal and agreed to it. We're not re-shuffling the deck at this late hour, and I'm the dealer. Take your money with my blessing, and quit your bitching," she said. "Everyone gets what they are entitled to, which is exactly the same as what everyone else gets. Their reward is no greater than yours, and no less."

This is Biblical. Matthew 20:1 "For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard . . . . "

Connect the dots here, please.

My plan is to enjoy all things in moderation and be happy right up to the last minute and then kiss it goodbye.

Who is the smart, albeit extremely lazy, one?

-  oOo  -

Tom Fox
Louisville, Kentucky

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Wise as serpents

The injunction "Be wise as a serpent and innocent as a dove," is frequently interpreted, applied, and justified in the reverse. Wise as a dove and innocent as a serpent.

"The world, in its original connotation, included both the proper creation of man by God, AND the proper creation by man in his Right Mind. The latter required the endowment of man by God with free will, because all loving creation is freely given. Nothing in either of these statements implies any sort of level involvement, or, in fact, anything except one continuous line of creation, in which all aspects are of the same order. When the “lies of the serpent” were introduced, they were specifically called lies because they are not true. When man listened, all he heard was untruth. He does not have to continue to believe what is not true, unless he chooses to do so. All of his miscreations can disappear in the well known “twinkling of an eye”, because it is a visual misperception." — ACIM urtext

What, exactly, does it mean to be "wise as a serpent"?

The saying comes from Matthew 10:16, "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." — New International Version (©1984)

Commentary from The People's New Testament explains it like this:

• As sheep in the midst of wolves. Defenseless by human means, among the fierce and cruel; among bitter enemies.
• Wise as serpents. Prudent, discreet. Serpents are very cautious in avoiding danger.
• Harmless as doves. Guileless and innocent as doves. The dove, peaceful, never preying on other birds, has always been a symbol of innocence.
  

And, from the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary:

Alone, the wisdom of the serpent is mere cunning, and the harmlessness of the dove little better than weakness: but in combination, the wisdom of the serpent would save them from unnecessary exposure to danger; the harmlessness of the dove, from sinful expedients to escape it. In the apostolic age of Christianity, how harmoniously were these qualities displayed! Instead of the fanatical thirst for martyrdom, to which a later age gave birth, there was a manly combination of unflinching zeal and calm discretion, before which nothing was able to stand.

The symbolism of the serpent is dependent upon culture. In the Abrahamic religions, serpents are connected with deceit, and are used to symbolize deceitfulness. An example is the serpent in the Garden of Eden, who tricks Adam and Eve into partaking of the Fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The symbolic connection between serpents and deceit may depend in part on the observation that snakes have forked tongues. A forked tongue is a tongue which has not one end, but two, pointing in different directions. In humans, the tongue is an essential tool in speech, and the presence of only one tip signifies the unity of truthful speech, and corresponds to the unity of the truth itself. There is only one truth, but there are many lies. The forked tongue represents the disunity of deceitful speech. Wikipedia

But, this is not the only symbolic meaning for serpents. Serpents are represented as potent guardians of temples and other sacred spaces. This connection may be grounded in the observation that when threatened, some snakes, such as rattlesnakes or cobras, frequently hold and defend their ground, first resorting to threatening display and then fighting, rather than retreat.

Serpents are also symbolicaly connected with poison and medicine. The snake's venom is associated with the chemicals of plants and fungi that have the power to either heal, poison or provide expanded consciousness, even the elixir of life and immortality, through divine intoxication. Because of its herbal knowledge and psychoactive religious association the snake was often considered one of the wisest animals, being close to the divine. The snake's divine aspect combined with its habitat in the earth between the roots of plants made it an animal with subterranean properties connected to the afterlife and immortality.

Serpents are connected with rebirth, renewal or regeneration. This trait is connected with the practice of snakes of shedding their old skin and growing a new one.

The Fourth Way teaching of Gurdjieff is sometimes called the way of the "sly man."  A man does not give up anything in his ordinary life to pursue awakening, rather, he uses what life has given him to further his progress.  The sly man is wise in the ways of the world, but not taken in by the world's allure and deceptions.  He stays in life and works with all  sides of himself. This re-aligns and balances him. As being and knowledge increase so does understanding. Seeing himself as he is, he begins to feel his contradictions, conscience is awakened, not the morality of personality, but conscience that is the same for all men. The way of the sly man may be to what "cunning as snakes and as harmless as doves" refers.

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Tom Fox
Louisville, Kentucky

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