The Course and The Work

Lately I have been reading a fantastic book by Course Teacher, Robert Perry.  The book is called Return to the Heart of God: The Practical Philosophy of A Course in Miracles.  This is the first time that I have read a book on the Course that really helps me to understand the Course's "thought-system."  I highly recommend it. 

I am also amazed at the many connections that I am finding between the Course and The Work of Byron Katie.  Actually, you could say that there are connections between the Course and just about any of the modern Non-dual teachers such as Byron Katie, Eckhart Tolle (the "format" of Perry's book and Tolle's A New Earth are strikingly similar to me), Adyashanti, etc.  However, since I am so immersed in The Work, I am seeing more similarities between it and the Course. 

I found the following quote from the Course very helpful in understanding why it is that The Work is so effective:

"You cannot evaluate an insane belief system from within it.  Its range precludes this.  You can only go beyond it, look back from a point where sanity exists and see the contrast.  Only by this contrast can insanity be judged insane." (Text, Ch. 13, Sec. VII, Par. 6:1-4)

This passage explains so much to me about The Work.  I see how question #4 (Who would you be without this thought?) allows me to "see the contrast" between Reality without the thought and the point of view of believing the thought (#3, How do you react when you think that thought?).  Question #4 and the turnarounds allow me to "look back from a point where sanity exists" and see my insane thoughts for what they are.

One of the differences between the Course and The Work it is that with the Course, the Holy Spirit is the one that provides this new view-point.  We allow the Holy Spirit (the Voice of God) to gradually change our thought-system from one ruled by the ego and its illusions to one that is rooted in Reality.  With The Work we use the four questions and the turnaround.  Both, however, lead to the same place -- the real-ization that what we thought was true wasn't and an ever-deepening "knowing" of what is and always has been True.

Of course, I am over-simplifying things.  The Course is a very complex text with many different ways of interpreting it.  My understanding of the Course is very elementary at this time.  However, I am still very excited about seeing the connections between it and The Work.  I am excited about how my understanding if the Course is helping me to appreciate The Work more.  And, I am ever grateful that I have discovered the power of The Work in my life and in the lives of those I Work with.