"Does God make mistakes?"

[Martin Gifford]

At 04:06 AM 8/07/97 -0700, you wrote:
>
>     The Self "thinks" and the illusory "you" SEEMS to be having the thoughts.
>
>     But any so-called conflict is only in the "I" of the beholder.

..........But if a violent thought occurs it comes from the illusion of
separation. If that comes from the Self in Oneness (impossible) then we may
as well go to Adolph Hitler for satsang.

>     But maybe there is no real "goal" to be arguing about.  For that
>matter, maybe such arguments are also illusory.  Maybe there's only the Self.

..........Then what are we talking about?

>>>Q. But what SEPARATE one is really there to sense this so-called
"separation?"
>>
>>A. There is no separate one. The division is only imagined at particular
>>points in space and time. The separation is believed.
>
>     But, by WHOM?

............The Self. Separation is believed temporarily.

>     WHO is there who is going to get rid of this sense of separation.

.............The Self perceives disharmony and in that perception it stops
automatically.

>      Can you really be present as a witness to your own awakening?

.............There is no awakening. There is only the dispelling of darkness.

>>     When I have seen violence, it's always been appropriate for me to try
>to stop it in any way I can....even though nothing is really "wrong."

...........I would say that at that moment you were more conscious than the
violent others!

>>>Q. The problem may only be in believing that there is a quintessential
>>difference between the "victor" and the "victim."
>>
>>A. Before or after the violence?
>
>     Actually, at any time.

............The primary belief of difference is before the violence. If
there was no belief in difference there couldn't be any violence.

>     The thought of separation is still a thought.  But then you still have
>to deal with the Thinker of this thought.  Who is that?

.............It is the momentum of misperception within the Self.

>     To be against anything is to validate its apparent separation.

.............Fair enough. I should say when harmony meets disharmony the
harmony wins because it is the nature of Oneness.

>     If the oneness has always been there, then the problems were never
>really present either.

..............I can think all soughts of things, and experience problems and
suffer, or I can realise a line of thought is wrong and stop it. So to with
the Self.

Regards,

Martin.