In Thursday’s class I defined “home” as an environment that is perfectly in harmony with us and our needs.
The Course talks about what we identify as “home” mainly in relation to three things:
· Body
· House
· World
I spent the bulk of the class going through a number of passages that asked us to acknowledge that we are already disappointed with all three of these things as our home, because they don’t fit the definition. They are not environments that are perfectly in harmony with us and our needs. Here are some of those passages:
“Yet who can build his home upon a straw, and count on it as shelter from the wind? The body can be made a home like this, because it lacks foundation in the truth.” (T- 28.VII.3)
“You do not really want the world you see, for it has disappointed you since time began. The homes you built have never sheltered you. The roads you made have led you nowhere, and no city that you built has withstood the crumbling assault of time. Nothing you made but has the mark of death upon it. Hold it not dear, for it is old and tired and ready to return to dust even as you made it.” (T-13.VII.3)
“We speak today for everyone who walks this world, for he is not at home. He goes uncertainly about in endless search, seeking in darkness what he cannot find; not recognizing what it is he seeks. A thousand homes he makes, yet none contents his restless mind. He does not understand he builds in vain. The home he seeks can not be made by him.” (W-182.3)
“And so they wander through a world of strangers, unlike themselves, living with their bodies perhaps under a common roof that shelters neither; in the same room and yet a world apart.” (T-22.In.2)
“Consider the kingdom you have made and judge its worth fairly. Is it worthy to be a home for a child of God? Does it protect his peace and shine love upon him? Does it keep his heart untouched by fear, and allow him to give always, without any sense of loss? Does it teach him that this giving is his joy, and that God Himself thanks him for his giving? That is the only environment in which you can be happy.” (T-7.XI.3)
Admitting that the body, our houses, and the world have not been and never will be suitable homes is a huge part of the equation. To get home, we have to want the real home and stop wanting the fake homes. We’ll talk about wanting the real one in the next class.
[Please note: ACIM passages quoted in this article reference the Foundation for Inner Peace (FIP) Edition.]
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