What if there is no bad guy?

“One sees things from only one angle, a partial view, which is bound to be distorted; and yet one accepts this view as the full truth.”– S.N. Goenka

A Course in Miracles turns every certainty on its head.

It promises peace of mind. It says that’s my natural state.

It says “good” and “evil” are useless concepts, simplifying and reducing everything to right and wrong, black and white, winners and losers.

It says I even employ this “war mentality” against myself. I  go to battle with my own inner enemies—say laziness or procrastination or a compulsion to eat whole cartons of cookie dough ice cream. Invariably, my default response is: identify and vanquish all inner bad guys.

The Course says “There are no bad guys. There are no enemies.”

Instead of working so hard to find and unseat evildoers, it asks me to question the reality of my problems.

Anybody or anything I cast as an enemy is part of myself. I am not a separate individual. I am intimately related to everyone and everything else.

Waging war only creates the conditions for more war. It leads to revenge, defeat and more acrimony.  If I bomb terrorists, I create conditions for more terror. If I lock up criminals, I destroy communities and breed more crime. If I despise my body, I create stress hormones that cause more reasons to despise my body.

The Course offers a massive deprogramming. It reprograms my mind’s natural tendency to condemn, judge and wage war into acceptance, forgiveness and the recognition that what’s out there starts in here.

The ego mind, of course wants to know how all this is going to happen.

What’s the plan? It likes to ask.

But the Course says that’s just one more misdiagnosis, another subtle war game of exerting force.

The Course says I don’t have enough information, let alone force to outplay my demons. The best tactic is always trust in a higher intelligence. In fact, the less I plan, the less I do, the better.

I don’t have to know how anything is going to happen. I just have to give up the fight.

On a personal note, I should let you know I’m preparing a bunch of goodies for anyone who preorders my Course in Miracles book that makes it debut in January 2020. I’m also actively reviewing pitches for 2020’s 222 award. Thanks to all who have sent proposals. I hope you’ll continue to help me spread the word.

Have a wonderful Tuesday, my friends!

Pam Grout is the author of 19 books including E-Squared, E-Cubed, Thank & Grow Rich and her latest book, Art & Soul,Reloaded: A Year-Long Apprenticeship to Summon the Muses and Ignite Your Daring, Audacious, Creative Side.