LOOK GUILT IN THE EYE

ACIM teaches that "all anger is an attempt to make someone else feel guilty".

If this is true, to be "angry at myself" first requires that I regard myself as "someone else"!? Several places in the course suggest that we project a "self" that is an image we have chosen for some purpose, but not our true Self which is of course, God-given and immutable. What could possibly be the purpose of projecting a "self" which I choose to see as guilty? Could it be that I prefer that self be guilty rather than accept guilt into my preferred "self"?
   
It all begins to sound like some kind of avoidance "con" game. How many "selves" do I think I have? Possibly a lot! I might just generate them as needed to hide from any kind of responsibility!?
   
Rather than attempting to shuffle guilt off onto some projected self, why not just "look directly at the seeming source" of guilt. If one chooses to do this, accompanied by Jesus, all sources of "guilt" can be seen in the light and will simply vanish in Jesus' loving acceptance. Then, one has escaped guilt, not by projecting but by re-interpretation a far better cure than attempting to blame other "selves".
   
The Course is unique in my experience in proposing this approach to problem-solving. Rather than denying error, or cathecting error (release through catharsis - discharge of tension) it simply offers the total love-encompassment that Jesus provides and helps us re-understand the error, rather than struggle with the guilt induced by attempts to hide or overcome it. In other words, "don't fight it -- release it!" This leaves one with a loving appreciation of oneself rather than angry attack.

Kellie Love, a Miracles student

WHAT IS ANGER AT YOURSELF?

QUESTION: I need to know if you can help me with a problem today. Advice from Miracles teachings about anger, specifically anger at oneself. Anger because a person did something they shouldn't have done or something they should have done, but didn't subsequently.They are now very angry with themselves.

REPLY: Since anger is a manipulation tool, I think we can rule it out as the emotion involved. It sounds like frustration might be a better description. And frustration is a manufactured emotion.

Sometimes the rules we set up for situations don't really fit our reality, so we get frustrated----but most times, it's not at ourselves for falling short, though we pretend it is. Usually, it's at the unreasonable expectations of ourselves or others. A simple case of conflicting beliefs.

Sometimes, I get frustrated when I can't do all the things I did when I was 19. Somehow, my expectation is that I should. Something's got to give since I resist adjusting my expectations, so I produce frustration instead, when --clearly-- my expectations are not aligned with my beliefs about reality, and that's the real problem.

My belief that I should be able to do all the things a 19-year-old can do conflicts with a basic belief that someone older can't. So, the only reasonable course is to adjust my expectations or change my beliefs---and both are hard to do. Frustration is easier, and it get's me off the hook. So, I manufacture that instead of solving the obvious problem.