Soul4you \u00b7 Georgina Kovacs \u00b7 Part 6 of the \u201eOne Dream\u201d series, which also serves as a bridge to the next series of articles \u00b7 Reading time: approx. 6 minutes<\/p>\n
The early chapters of the Book of Genesis present us, one after another, with images that depict humanity\u2019s estrangement, brokenness and thirst. Gen 1\u20133, SZIT<\/p>\n
Before we set off with Abraham on his journey home in the story, it is worth asking: how do we even know that there is a \u2018home\u2019, and why do we feel that something is missing, even though everything seems to be fine? Gen 3, SZIT; Psalms 42, SZIT<\/p>\n
In this article \u2013 within the framework of the dreaming mind \u2013 we examine three inner signals: pain, shame and desire. Not as faults, but as memories.<\/p>\n
In the Hebrew lexicon, one of the basic meanings of the root \u2018tsar\u2019 is narrowness, confinement, a confined space or distress. Strong\u2019s H6862<\/em><\/p>\n Therefore, pain here can be understood not primarily as an unpleasant sensation, but as a constricted space: it hurts where there is not enough room for us to be. Strong\u2019s H6862<\/p>\n The realisation of their nakedness is described in the Book of Genesis as follows: \u201eThen their eyes were opened, and they realised they were naked.\u201d (Gen 3:7, St Stephen\u2019s Society, SZIT) Gen 3:7<\/p>\n If they had no memory whatsoever of what it is like to be naked without shame, they would have nothing to compare it with, and the pain would not manifest itself in the same way. Ter 3:7<\/p>\n The relevant teaching from the main text of *The Teaching of Miracles* can be summarised as follows: pain is relative to the memory of a former state of wholeness.<\/p>\n In this interpretation, pain signifies constriction, whilst also suggesting that a person harbours within themselves some sort of memory of a more expansive state. Strong\u2019s H6862<\/p>\n In Hebrew, the root \u2018b\u00f4s\u2019 \/ \u2018bosh\u2019 conveys not only the meaning of \u2018shame\u2019 but also nuances of disappointment, humiliation or despair. Strong\u2019s H954<\/em><\/p>\n Thus, shame can mean not only \u201eI am bad\u201d, but also \u201ethis is not what I expected\u201d. Strong\u2019s H954<\/p>\n If human consciousness did not retain the possibility that a purer or more complete state might exist, the experience of disappointment would also be different. Strong\u2019s H954<\/p>\n That is why shame can be not only a wound but also a mark: something within us may still preserve the memory of the original balance. Genesis 3:7<\/p>\n The summaries of the relevant lessons in the *A Course in Miracles* Workbook point out that shame may involve not only self-judgement, but also the pain of a forgotten self-image.<\/p>\n If we misinterpret it, it will turn into self-flagellation. If we interpret it correctly, it can serve as a guide.<\/p>\n Desire is associated with a wide range of religious and spiritual interpretations; it is therefore worth carefully distinguishing between the form and the direction of desire. Psalms 42, SZIT; Strong\u2019s H3700<\/p>\n In this interpretation, the question is not whether there is a desire, but where it points. Strong\u2019s H3700<\/p>\n Augustine\u2019s famous saying goes: \u201e\u2026our hearts are restless until they find rest in you.\u201d *Confessions* I,1<\/p>\n This is not a condemnation of desire, but a recognition that the human heart is drawn towards something. Confessions I,1<\/p>\n In Psalm 42 of the Book of Psalms, this image appears: \u201eAs the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O Lord.\u201d (Psalms 42:2, St Stephen\u2019s Society, SZIT) Psalms 42:2<\/p>\n According to the dictionary, the verb \u2018k\u00e1szaf\u2019 \/ \u2018kasaph\u2019 falls within the semantic field of yearning, longing and craving. Strong\u2019s H3700<\/em><\/p>\n In this context, desire is not a fault in itself, but a sign of the search for the source. Psalms 42:2<\/p>\n The sections of the *Teaching of Miracles*\u2019s main text dealing with the guidance of the Holy Spirit can be summarised as follows: desire can also be the voice of the Source when it expresses not a lack but a remembrance.<\/p>\n So the question is not whether you long for something, but whose voice you hear in your longing.<\/p>\n People seek to discover themselves through many different avenues: at work, in relationships, through creative endeavours, through achievement or through spiritual practice.<\/p>\n These gates are all different, but each one can be an opportunity to bring you closer to what is real.<\/p>\n Paul puts it this way: \u201eWe also know that all things work together for the good of those who love God\u2026\u201d (Romans 8:28, St Stephen\u2019s Society, SZIT) Romans 8:28<\/p>\n This sentence opens up the possibility that even detours, relationships left unfinished and years thought to be lost can be reinterpreted. Romans 8:28<\/p>\n According to the summary of the content of those parts of *A Course in Miracles* that are based on the continuity of learning, there is no experience that cannot be used for the sake of awakening.<\/p>\n Each one can show you what you are not, and in doing so, bring you closer to who you are.<\/p>\n In the Book of Genesis, following the story of the knowledge of good and evil, human experience enters the realm of discernment. Gen 3, SZIT<\/p>\n In this context, the same feeling \u2013 \u201esomething is missing\u201d \u2013 can point in two different directions. Strong\u2019s H3700<\/p>\n The voice of the longing to return home: I remember something.<\/p>\n The voice of longing for what is missing: I\u2019m not good enough; once I\u2019ve achieved something, I\u2019ll become the person I\u2019m meant to be.<\/p>\n The lexical meaning of *kasaph* denotes a genuine, intense longing, but does not in itself determine where that longing leads. Strong\u2019s H3700<\/em><\/p>\n The relevant sections of *A Course in Miracles* emphasise, in their summary of the content, that not every desire leads to the same place, even if they appear similar from the outside.<\/p>\n One leads you home. The other keeps you out. The difference lies in the voice you listen to.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not a matter of theory, but of a few simple exercises.<\/p>\n 1. Pain as a question. The next time you feel pain, don\u2019t immediately ask: \u2018Why is this happening to me?\u2019 Instead, ask: \u2018What does this remind me of, and where do I recognise the opposite of this?\u2019<\/p>\n 2. A new way of looking at shame. When shame arises, tell yourself: it doesn\u2019t hurt because I\u2019m a bad person. It hurts because I remember that I\u2019m more than this.<\/p>\n 3. Recognising the voice of desire. When a desire arises within you, ask yourself: is it calling you home, or driving you away?<\/p>\n 4. A reminder of the thousand gates. Think back over the periods of your life that you have so far regarded as wasted. Ask yourself: what did this reveal about what I am not?<\/p>\n Was there ever a time in your life when you first felt that something was missing, even though, on the surface, everything seemed fine?<\/p>\n Where do you feel the deepest unease right now, and if you were to interpret it not as a mistake but as a memory, what traces would you discover in it?<\/p>\n Perhaps that quiet sense of longing you\u2019ve been trying to suppress isn\u2019t your enemy after all. Perhaps it\u2019s no longer pushing you away, but drawing you in.<\/p>\n And when this call first becomes not just pain, but a \u2018yes\u2019, that is where Abraham\u2019s story begins.<\/p>\n Soul4you \u2014 soul4you.net<\/p>\n Georgina Kovacs<\/p>\n \u2013 Genesis 3, in particular Gen 3:7 \u2013 St Stephen\u2019s Society Bible<\/p>\n \u2013 Psalm 42, in particular Psalm 42:2 \u2013 St Stephen\u2019s Society Bible<\/p>\n \u2013 Romans 8:28\u201331 \u2013 St Stephen\u2019s Society Bible<\/p>\n \u2013 Strong\u2019s Hebrew H6862 (tsar \/ cr) \u2013 Bible Hub<\/p>\n \u2013 Strong\u2019s Hebrew H954 (bosh \/ b\u00f4s) \u2013 Bible Hub<\/p>\n \u2013 Strong\u2019s Hebrew H3700 (kasaph \/ k\u00e1szaf) \u2013 Bible Hub<\/p>\n \u2013 Aurelius Augustinus: Confessions \/ Confessiones, Book I, Chapter 1 \u2013 Hungarian Electronic Library<\/p>\n \u2022 The Teaching of Miracles \u2014 revised and reworked edition (\u00c9desv\u00edz Kiad\u00f3, 2017)<\/p>\n \u2022 Full text online: https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/document\/666994204\/Foundation-for-Inner-Peace-A-CSODAK-TANITASA<\/p>\n With love, Soul4you \u00b7 Georgina Kovacs \u00b7 Az \u201eEgyetlen \u00e1lom\u201d sorozat 6. r\u00e9sze, egyben \u00e1tk\u00f6t\u00e9s a k\u00f6vetkez\u0151 cikksorozathoz \u00b7 Olvas\u00e1si id\u0151: kb. 6 perc A Teremt\u00e9s k\u00f6nyv\u00e9nek korai fejezetei egym\u00e1s ut\u00e1n olyan k\u00e9peket rajzolnak el\u00e9nk, amelyek az ember elt\u00e1volod\u00e1s\u00e1t, meghasad\u00e1s\u00e1t \u00e9s szomj\u00fas\u00e1g\u00e1t mutatj\u00e1k meg. Ter 1\u20133, SZIT Miel\u0151tt \u00c1brah\u00e1mmal elinduln\u00e1nk hazafel\u00e9 a t\u00f6rt\u00e9netben, \u00e9rdemes megk\u00e9rdezni: honnan tudjuk […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":168,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s4y_en_tartalom":" When longing points homeward<\/em><\/p>\n\n Soul4you \u00b7 Georgina Kovacs \u00b7 Part 6 of the One Dream series<\/p>\n\n Across this series, I have read the early Genesis stories as movements within a dreaming mind. Before following Abraham into another kind of beginning, I want to pause over a quieter question: how do we come to feel that there is somewhere to return to?<\/p>\n\n Perhaps life looks reasonably settled from the outside, yet something within remains restless. Not every unease is a spiritual message, but the experience can open a question that achievement alone has not answered.<\/p>\n\n Here I look at three inward signals: pain, shame and desire. I explore whether, in my metaphysical reading, they can sometimes point towards a memory of wholeness rather than serve only as evidence against ourselves.<\/p>\n\n The Hebrew word tsar has senses connected with narrowness, constraint and distress. (Strong's H6862 and Brown\u2013Driver\u2013Briggs<\/a>) That range of meaning gives me an image: a space in which there seems to be too little room to be.<\/p>\n\n I am making an association, not offering a complete explanation of pain. Physical pain can require medical attention, and emotional pain can arise from actual loss, injury or unmet needs.<\/p>\n\n Within my reading, I ask a further question. Might some of our inward constriction also make us aware of the spaciousness we long for?<\/p>\n\n Genesis places the absence of shame before the eating of the fruit, and the recognition of nakedness and the making of coverings afterwards. (Genesis 2:25<\/a>; Genesis 3:7<\/a>) I read the contrast as an image of changed self-experience.<\/p>\n\n The text does not say that all pain proves a memory of an original spiritual state. That is the possibility I contemplate through my own framework: something in us may still recognise that constriction is not the whole truth of our being.<\/p>\n\n The question is not \u201cWhat is wrong with me for hurting?\u201d It is \u201cWhat kind of care, space or connection is needed here?\u201d<\/p>\n\n The Hebrew verb bosh can express being ashamed or disappointed, among other senses that depend on its context. (Strong's H954 and Brown\u2013Driver\u2013Briggs<\/a>) The word itself does not establish a metaphysical theory of shame.<\/p>\n\n For me, however, it opens a distinction between a feeling and a final verdict. Feeling shame does not prove that my whole being is defective.<\/p>\n\n Sometimes there is an action to acknowledge and repair. Sometimes the shame belongs to a judgement imposed on us, rather than to anything we have done.<\/p>\n\n Those situations need different responses. A spiritual reading becomes unhelpful if it treats them as interchangeable.<\/p>\n\n Within the One Dream framework, I also wonder whether the discomfort of a diminished self-image can become a reminder that I am more than the image. Not because shame is necessary, or because it should be cultivated, but because it need not have the last word.<\/p>\n\n Self-punishment closes the question quickly: this is what I am. A more careful response leaves room: this is what I am feeling, and I can look at it without making it my whole identity.<\/p>\n\n Augustine writes of the heart's restlessness and its rest in God in the opening of his Confessions. (Confessions, Book I<\/a>) I hear in that Christian prayer a recognition of longing as movement towards a relationship, rather than simply a defect to suppress.<\/p>\n\n Psalm 42 gives another powerful image: the soul's thirst for God is compared to a deer's longing for water. (Psalm 42:1\u20132<\/a>) I do not need to flatten the psalm and Augustine into the same theology to hear a resonance between them.<\/p>\n\n Hebrew also has the verb kasaph for longing or yearning. (Strong's H3700 and Brown\u2013Driver\u2013Briggs<\/a>) I mention it as a related word, not as the verb used in Psalm 42's opening image, and its dictionary meaning does not determine where a longing leads.<\/p>\n\n For my own reflection, that last point matters most. The presence of desire does not yet tell me its direction.<\/p>\n\n Am I reaching for something because I believe I will become worthy only when I possess it? Or is there a quieter movement towards a relationship I have neglected?<\/p>\n\n This is not a division between spiritual needs that count and ordinary needs that do not. Food, rest, safety, affection and a secure place to live are not mistakes of the soul.<\/p>\n\n The question concerns what I ask an achievement or possession to do for me. Can it meet the need I have, or have I made it responsible for proving that I am enough?<\/p>\n\n Lesson 182 of A Course in Miracles describes an inward memory of home and invites a moment of stillness in which to return to it. (Workbook, Lesson 182<\/a>) This is a more precise connection to the Course than claiming that it diagnoses every pain or shame as a forgotten memory.<\/p>\n\n My own belief is that the longing for the Source is not merely nostalgia for a pleasant state. It concerns a belonging that our experience of separation has obscured without destroying.<\/p>\n\n That is why I call this a thread of remembering. I may not yet be able to follow it far, but I can notice what happens when I stop treating it as an enemy.<\/p>\n\n The remembrance does not require me to manufacture a particular feeling. A quiet moment without any revelation is not a failed return.<\/p>\n\n Work, relationships, creativity, achievement and spiritual practice can all become places where we encounter ourselves. None automatically brings us home, and none needs to be dismissed simply because it belongs to everyday life.<\/p>\n\nII. Shame as Memory<\/h2>\n
III. Desire as Memory<\/h2>\n
IV. A Thousand Gates, One Door<\/h2>\n
V. Two kinds of desire: memory and longing<\/h2>\n
VI. So what should we do?<\/h2>\n
Your dream<\/h2>\n
Sources<\/h2>\n
\nGeorgina
\nSoul4you \u00b7 soul4you.net<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pain as a sense of distance<\/h2>\n\n
Shame without a verdict on the whole person<\/h2>\n\n
Desire and the direction of longing<\/h2>\n\n
The memory of home<\/h2>\n\n
A thousand ways of approaching one question<\/h2>\n\n