Day 6
What Is the Cause of Unhappiness?
Why do we suffer? Why do we experience unhappiness? If we knew the answer to this, we could solve the core problem of our lives.
We assume the answer is that things do not go our way. If we just had more money, if we found that special someone, if our body stayed healthy and attractive—in short, if external circumstances were more favorable—we believe we would be happy.
Yet our pursuit of these things never really works, does it? Even when we obtain the prize we sought, our fundamental unhappiness remains, and we are soon searching for a new prize. The reason it never works, says the Course, is that we have misdiagnosed the problem. The problem lies not without but within.
Here is a brief description of the cycle that, according to the Course, leads to our unhappiness:
- The ego: We believe we are a separate self
The real source of our unhappiness, the Course teaches, is the ego. The ego is a false belief about our identity. It is the belief that we are separate, alone, and on our own, that at the center of ourselves there is just us, no one else. The Course says, “The ego is the belief of the mind that it is completely on its own” (T-4.IV.5:5).
The ego, unsurprisingly, is egocentric. It is fundamentally out for itself. It wants to be on top, which means others must be beneath it. It wants to get the pot of gold, even if there are casualties along the way.
- Guilt: We feel guilty for being unloving
We do our best to hide our ego’s callous motives, even from our own eyes, but somewhere inside we cannot look away. The result is that we accumulate a deep well of guilt. This guilt, which is mostly unconscious, constantly whispers in our ear, saying that we deserve to suffer for our unloving actions as our just deserts. The Course even goes so far as to say, “Guilt is…the sole cause of pain in any form” (T-30.VI.2:1).
- Projection: We project this guilt onto others
To get rid of this guilt, we do the easy thing: we project it outward. Now everyone else is to blame; we’re never at fault. Now other people are filled with unscrupulous motives, while we always have the best intentions. Projection creates the illusion we all believe in—that we are “good within an evil world” (T-31.V.2:6).
- Fear: We fear our sins will catch up with us
All of this adds up to fear. Our guilt tells us that our sins are about to catch up with us. Projection shows us a world full of evil people eager to prey on us. How, then, could we not live in a state of fear? We call it by different names—anxiety, worry, unease, nervousness, dread. But to a degree we do not realize, fear is our normal condition.
This diagnosis may sound depressing, but it’s actually good news. For if this is the problem, then there is a solution. Tomorrow we will explore the way out.
See you then,
Robert Perry
Founder
Circle of Atonement
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