Doubt has many forms — in others, in yourself, in the future, and even in factual evidence. A Course in Miracles tells us, “No evidence will convince you of the truth you do not want.” The course tells us we are two parts: the ego and the holy spirit. The course explains that the ego, whose only goal is to separate us, does not want us to know the truth about ourselves. If we can embrace the truth, the spiritual connection to love would be so powerful that the chattering ego would have no value.
How many times have you heard something and your automatic thought was; ‘I don’t believe that.’ But whose voice is that? Is it yours or is it the voice of the ego — the part of the mind that guards against truth.
Skepticism is the fuel that keeps the ego alive. If the information presented doesn’t fit the ego’s narrative, it is simply dismissed. Why? The ego’s mission is to make a person’s world so small and so miserable that life isn’t worth living. The more miserable the mind, the greater the egos hold on the body as a puppet. The puppeteer makes sure the puppet constantly searches but never finds.
When presented with anything that resembles the truth about this fact, the ego shrinks away in guilt or attacks the truth with anger — both cover-ups for fear. The conscious fear is giving up something you tell yourself is enjoyable, even though that “pleasure” is costing you everything near and dear to you.
Who Are You?
The ego doesn’t want you to know who you truly are. Discovering that you are a powerful, loving, spiritual, human being who is here for a purpose, is the last thing the ego wants you to know. So, when the ego tells you to ignore that fact, you never challenge its guidance, and you never connect to your true Self. That way, you can stay the same and wonder why you’re always feeling that “something is missing.”
The ego sees life as an opportunity to keep getting, and then when life is not fulfilling or meaningful, the ego searches for more substitutes to mask the emptiness it created in the first place. Those substitutes for love only create a more bottomless void. When told that all addictions are a substitute for love, the ego jumps in with a better analysis of why that’s not true.
As one person told me, “I’m just having a good time, when I do cocaine and watch porn, I’m not hurting anyone, I deserve it.” That statement would be true if it excluded the most important person of all, the person doing drugs and watching porn. Sitting alone in an altered state, hours upon hours is the loneliest place in the world — right where the ego wants every person to be. No one deserves to self-destruct in the name of doing something that “feels good.”
Never Doubt Your Worth
Someone who is not enjoying life, or who is destroying their life is suffering from a bad case of doubt.
A person has to be willing to believe they are more than a body to use and abuse. You have to be willing to know that you’re here for a reason, and the primary purpose is to share and receive love with others. As the Desiderata says, “You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars, you have a right to be here.”
You have to be willing to understand that there’s a great deal you don’t know and to be open-minded and try on new thoughts before rejecting them. Then if the new idea doesn’t fit, it can be dismissed, but not before.
Why Are You Here?
The ego continually talks of everything that’s wrong — inside of you and with the world in general. Do you ever doubt that? Have you ever considered the possibility that you’re here on a mission and that the universe is here to support you along the way?
You have the free will to doubt, but you also have the free will to question your ego-mindedness and consider that it’s not your friend. The same voice that talks you into doing the wrong thing is the exact same voice that condemns you for doing it. No room for truth here. Is this the advisor you want?
You might contemplate that there’s a place within you that is divine and loving and is here to guide and support you throughout your life. In other words, you are never alone, and you do have a trusted advisor, one that does have your best interests at heart.
Freedom from Mental Imprisonment
The greatest prison on the planet is right inside of your own mind. But you can walk out of that jail cell any time by deciding to open the door. You need only to tap into that part of you that will never lead you astray.
You don’t have to worry about it being wrong because the choice of love is always right. The ego might squirm as you decide to let go of all the substitutes for real love, but the discomfort won’t last very long. Like any two-year-old tantrum, once you walk away, the tantrum gets worse for a minute, then without reinforcement, the child forgets all about the demand and turns to the next best thing.
The next time you’re presented with a spiritual thought that your mind automatically rejects, how about trying it on just for size. You can ignore the internal tantrum. You can reclaim power by walking right past doubt and into a wondrous place in your mind where truth abides. As one great master told us, “…know the truth and the truth will set you free.”
Why not try leaving the cell of closed-mindedness if only for a moment. After all, it’s a revolving door; you can return any time. Once you leave prison and see the light for the first time, you might never settle for a windowless, four-walled, dank cell ever again.
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If you want to connect with Dr. Donna Marks, and find out about her tools and programs on how to Reclaim Your Power Over Addiction, visit her website https://drdonnamarks.com/
About the Author — Dr. Donna Marks is a licensed psychotherapist and an addictions counselor in Palm Beach, Florida. She has worked with over 6,000 clients. Donna’s struggle with addiction brought her to a worldwide search for healing. Eventually, she learned that rather than the root of every addiction was a lack of self-love. This realization completely turned her life around. In 1989, as part of her award-winning doctoral degree, Donna developed a chemical dependency training program at Palm Beach Community College, which has grown into a four-year degree. She is a certified Gestalt Therapist, Psychoanalyst, Hypnotist, and Sex Therapist. For 30 years, she has also taught A Course in Miracles.
Donna is the author of two books: Learn, Grow, Forgive: A Path to Spiritual Success, and the award-winning: Exit the Maze: One Addiction, One Cause, One Cure.
Donna is a public speaker and has shared her methods with hundreds of thousands of listeners on podcasts and radio shows.
www.drdonnamarks.com 561–436–9360 drdonnamarks@gmail.com
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