Our Search for Meaning and Purpose [STAFFCLS]

Dr. Jeffrey Seibert and Dr. Rosemarie LoSasso

It seems to be the great preoccupation of the world to find what will give our lives meaning and purpose. And the search may lead down many different paths, among them: mundane achievements, such as money, power and fame; interpersonal relationships, including family and friends; caring roles aimed at helping others and making the world a better place; and spiritual pursuits, such as becoming a student (and teacher) of A Course in Miracles. And yet despite the seeming differences among all of them, from the perspective of the Course, they share one thing in common: they are all meaningless. For all seek to establish meaning and purpose in special relationships, our substitutes for God, through the activity of the body, which nicely serves the ego’s purpose of keeping the Son of God mindless. This program explores what the Course asserts are the only two purposes our lives can serve: reinforcing the dream through judgment and specialness, or awakening from it through the miracle and forgiveness, only one of which is meaningful, for it shifts our focus from the body to the mind. The program also examines the subtle ways in which the ego attempts to convince us that meaning and purpose can still be found in the world of dreams, telling us that seeking to find meaning in awakening from the dream is simply not enough to get us through our day.