body

 

body

The dream symbol of the ego; a physical wall around the mind that reflects the ego’s mental wall; an illusory prison that seems to keep the mind separate from all else.

  1. The ego made the body as proof that we really are separate, and that our separateness is outside our power of choice, being enforced by an objective wall of flesh. As a result, deep down we hate the body, blaming it for all the pain that separation brings. We also hate it because we think it is not good enough to be our house.
  2. The ego uses the body as a device to reinforce itself. It does so by using it to attack others and to seek physical pleasure. It adorns the body to make itself feel special (see specialness) and to attract special love partners (see special relationship). It uses the body’s sickness, aging, and death to “prove” to us that we are frail and guilty and that God is dead.
  3. The Holy Spirit sees the body as neutral, as having no power over the mind. He sees it as a means not an end, a “means of communication” (five references; see T-8.VII.Heading, 2:1, 13:3), an instrument for reaching our brothers with love, forgiveness, and healing. Thus it can be a useful tool here.
  4. Yet because it is an illusion, when we awaken in Heaven it will be gone, for there is no form in Heaven.